Six members of a family were found dead on Sunday at an apartment in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district. Among the victims were two children.
According to the police, it appears to be a case of mass suicide, but they are also investigating the possibility of murders. Prima facie, it appears that the children were killed by the elders, who later took their own lives.
The victims were Naresh Maheswari, a resident of the district’s Munga Bagicha area, his father Mahavir Maheshwari (70), his mother Kiran Devi, his wife Preeti Maheshwari and two children, Aman (8) and Anvi (6).
Maheswari killed himself by jumping off the roof of his apartment, while his parents and wife were found hanging from ceiling fans. The children had their throats slit, the police said.
A suicide note was recovered which said the reason of the suicides was a debt of Rs 50 lakh.
“We are investigating the case from both suicide and a murder angle. Forensic team is collecting samples to ascertain the causes of death,” a police official told IANS.
According to the media reports, Mahavir (Naresh’s Father) hanged himself. Bodies of Mahavir and his grandson, Aman, were found in the same room. Preeti’s body was also found hanging. Naresh’s mother also died of hanging, but her body was found lying on the bed.
This incident comes days after 11 members of a family were found hanging in their north Delhi house on June 30.
(With agency inputs)