Dady Adenwalla (81), a member of the Board of Appeals of Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC), died on Monday after falling off the balcony of his fourth-floor flat in south Mumbai.
Ruling out foul play or suicide so far, the Azad Maidan police have registered a case of accidental death. Adenwalla is survived by his daughter, Shireen Adenwalla, a well known chef.
A source in the Adenwalla household said the deceased underwent an eye surgery last week and was recuperating at home. “He was not suffering from any other ailment. This was a most unexpected tragedy,” said his cousin, Adi Narialwala.
According to the police, around 9am, Adenwalla went to the balcony to water the plants. He stayed there for a while and around about 9.30am, he bent over the balcony to call out to his driver, Rafeeque, who was standing below. “It is not clear what happened next. Whether he felt dizzy or his vision blurred, but he lost control and fell from the fourth floor,” said the officer. It was his driver who rushed him to the nearby Bombay Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. His body has been sent to GT Hospital for post mortem.
A long serving member of the RWITC, where he worked for over five decades till the time of his death, he was remembered fondly by his peers. “Dady’s passing away is tragic. He was one of the finest stipes RWITC has ever had and was unbiased in his decisions. His endearing and affable personality made him very likeable,” said RWITC chairman Vivek Jain.
A champion trainer, he won 11 Indian Classics, and trained two Indian Derby winners, Balchand in 1957 and Fair Wood in 1959. He retired from training in 1986 and then served at RWITC for over 15 years as its chief stipendiary steward and later as a member of its board of appeal till his death. RWITC had recently honoured him with the Lifetime Achievement award.