A Dalit widow and her three minor children were found dead in Mahanadi river near Kujang on Thursday. The poverty-stricken distressed widow is said to have pushed her children before taking the plunge.
Her husband Anant Sethy’s sudden death in a road accident on 3 April had left the family helpless, according to locals.
Since Sethy’s death, his wife Mamina (35) had been living in pathetic conditions with her three children including two daughters Barasa Sethy 8 and Lisa Sethy 7, and son Sanatan Sethy, 4.
Villagers said the family did not have enough to eat, adding that IFFCO company had provided an ex gratia amount as Anant was a contract labourer with the company. But there was no pension.
The widow was yet to be covered under the widow pension scheme. Villagers said the mother and children ended their lives to escape misery and hunger.
The bodies were found floating in the river on Thursday. Police and fire brigade personnel fished out the bodies and sent them for post-mortem.
Sarpanch of Kujang Bharat Bhusan Nayak said the widow was not covered under any social security scheme.
The Kujang police said investigations were on to ascertain the cause of death of the four.