Cigars of the Pharaoh: Who falls off the cliff?

Who is the man who falls off the cliff in Cigars of the Pharaoh? Was it Rastapopoulos, who we later find out – in The Blue Lotus – is the head of the gang?

Yes, Rastapopoulos confirms this in The Blue Lotus... He says something like (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Yes, it's me, the very same one you watched disappear over a cliff in India"...

Also, check the newspaper article describing Tintin's success in the same story; the neighbouring story is one about the mysterious disappearance of the "Cosmos King".