Varanasi: In a shocking incident, four members of the same family from Andhra Pradesh allegedly ended their lives by committing suicide after alleged harassment by a moneylenders, in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on Thursday, police said. A police official said that the mass suicide incident took place at in room number S6, located on the second floor of Kashi Kailash Bhawan in Devnathpur under Dashashwamedh police station limits of Varanasi.
The deceased have been identified as Konda Babu, 50, his son Rajesh, 25, Konda Babu's wife Lavanya, 45, and younger son Jayaraj, 23. The victims are residents of Andhra Pradesh and had been living in Varanasi for some time now. A police official said that a two and a half pages suicide note has been found from the spot. In the suicide note, the victims said that they took the extreme step due to “harassment” by a moneylenders back home in Andhra Pradesh from whom the family had borrowed Rs 12 lakh.
An official said that police have identified the three moneylenders from whom they had taken money and left their home and came to Kashi. Police said that the deceased had taken Rs 12 lakh from three different people in Andhra Pradesh. The victims said in the suicide note that when they went to the moneylenders with Rs 6 lakh, they refused to take the money while demanding the interest on the borrowed money.
The victims said that the moneylenders were “continuously threatenin” them over the borrowed money which forced them to take the extreme step. Police said that three of the family members including the parents and the younger son, first committed suicide after which the elder son Rajesh committed suicide.
Worship before suicide: Police have found that all four deceased family members had Kalava (Hindu holy thread) tied on their hands and a tilak (vermilion) on their foreheads, which indicates that they performed worship before committing suicide. A kumkum bottle has also been recovered nearby.
The method of tying the rope was the same: Police said that the size of the nylon rope used by all four to commit suicide and the method of tying it through the hook on the ceiling was also the same. It is believed that only one person had prepared these four nooses. Of the four ropes, the ropes of the two earning members of the house, Konda Babu and Rajesh, was blue and the rope of Lavanya and younger son Jayaraj was yellow, police said.
ACP Dashashwamedh Awadhesh Pandey said that the three moneylenders whose names have come up in the investigation so far, have been contacted by Andhra Pradesh Police for questioning. Andhra Pradesh Police is also trying to contact other members of the family, because the contact numbers of any other member of the family of these four have not been found yet in the documents found at the spot. The bodies of all four have currently been sent for post-mortem.
Suicides for 'salvation' in Kashi: People from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana often come to Kashi in search of salvation. In 2012, a mother and daughter from Andhra Pradesh, ended their lives in a guest house just because they thought that they would get salvation after death in Kashi. Just a few days ago, another Andhra Pradesh resident had ended his life at the Ganga Ghat.
But Pandit Prasad Dixit, member of Vishwanath Temple Trust debunked the superstition saying that in case of untimely death, one cannot wish for salvation and it is wrong.
Suicide is not a solution: If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.
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