Oyo Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal's father dies after falling off Gurugram highrise

Days after Oyo Rooms founder Riteish Agarwal's wedding, his father Ramesh Agarwal has died after falling from a high-rise in Gurugram. Ritesh did not live in the building where his parents had been staying. A police team led by the SHO arrived at the location for an inquest report, and have handed over the body after conducting a postmortem.

Tragedy amid joyful days

Tragedy has struck the entrepreneur's family, shortly after other top founders, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and investment firm SoftBank's CEO Masayoshi Son attended his wedding. The incident comes at a time when Oyo Rooms is undergoing a management reshuffle, and is looking forward to its stock market debut.

In a statement reported by Economic Times, Agarwal said, “With a heavy heart, my family and I, would like to share that our guiding light and strength, my father, Shri Ramesh Agarwal passed away on 10 March. He lived a full life and inspired me and so many of us, every single day. His death is a tremendous loss for our family. My father’s compassion and warmth saw us through our toughest times and carried us forward. His words will resonate deep in our hearts. We request everyone to respect our privacy in this time of grief."

Entrepreneur son of middle-class parents

Ritesh Agarwal's family belongs to the city of Rayagada in Odisha, where they ran a small shop. Agarwal used to sell sim cards there, before leaving for higher studies to Kota, from where he visited Delhi without telling his parents. He stayed at 100 hotels, spoke to owners and customers, as part of his business research, before dropping out and starting his first venture.

How Ramesh Agarwal accepted his son's passion

Agarwal's father found out about his venture while paying a surprise visit to Kota, when the dean informed that Ritesh had been bunking college. Initially, he wasn't happy that Agarwal was at his office instead of a classroom. But Ramesh Agarwal was later convinced by his wife to let their son follow his passion.