IITian who jumped to his death was an avid reader, champion squash player

Ankit Wadhwa’s cousin said he left his job at a top investment firm as he wanted to do something big

Ankit Wadhwa, the 26-year-old IITian who allegedly jumped to death from the 23rd floor of an apartment in DLF Magnolias on Golf course Road in the wee hours of Monday, was a very ambitious man who wanted to make it big in life, said his cousin Lalit Wadhwa, who stays in Gurgaon.

26-year-old Ankit Wadhwa jumped from the 23rd floor of DLF Magnolias building on Golf Course Road. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The deceased had joined JP Morgan Chase, an investment bank, in 2015 and worked there for over a year. He was based in Mumbai.

However, Ankit left his job in March 2017 as he wanted to pursue higher education in management or economics at a top college in India or abroad. He had been appearing for entrance exams to various institutes, and on Sunday came from Sriganganagar in Rajasthan to stay overnight at his uncle Chuni Lal Wadhwa’s apartment in DLF Magnolias.

“Ankit was scheduled to take GMAT exam on Monday and he had been preparing for it for several months. He was a bit quiet, but we never thought he would take such an extreme step,” Lalit said.

Ankit held a postgraduate degree from IIT Kanpur and took an interest in economics and financial services. On his social media profile he described himself as a senior research analyst with skills in Matlab, corporate finance, and data analysis.

He also had a good academic record during his schooling at Srigangangar, where his family is based. His father Mahesh Wadhwa works in United Insurance company and he also has a younger brother.

Ankit was an avid reader, marathoner, and a champion squash player, and he took great interest in sports and other activities. His twitter profile revealed that the deceased read voraciously and was especially interested in books on behavioural economics, psychology and biographies.

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“He was a very simple and honest. He never drank liquor and kept away from other such activities. He left his job to do something big in life,” said Lalit.

Ravinder Kumar, spokesperson for Gurgaon police, said that action has been initiated under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code and the body was handed over to the family members after postmortem examination.