Panchkula Suicide: Family Had Rs 20 Crore Debt, Neighbours Say 'Didn't Have A Clue'

Neighbours said they had no prior knowledge of Praveen Mittal facing any financial difficulties or being in debt.

Representational Image | A family of seven from Dehradun, burdened by Rs 15-20 crore debt, committed suicide in Panchkula after attending a spiritual discourse.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

The seven people from the same family who died by suicide in a car in Panchkula on Monday night had previously been living on rent in the Kaulagarh area of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, and were reportedly under a huge debt, amounting to around Rs 20 crore.

The family had gone to Panchkula from Dehradun to attend a spiritual discourse by Dhirendra Shastri, and on their return, they committed mass suicide.

Neighbours said they had no prior knowledge of Praveen Mittal facing any financial difficulties or being in debt. Neighbor Ajay Kumar Aggarwal said he couldn’t believe something like this could happen.

“It’s a very tragic incident. A cheerful, happy family is gone just like that. I’ve also informed the Aggarwal community group about it.” Another neighbor, Rajkumari Nautiyal, said.

“Maybe they were facing financial trouble, as they had vacated the house. When I asked his wife, she said the rent had increased. But we never imagined they would take such a big step. It’s very distressing news," he added.

Praveen Mittal's Suicide Note

According to the suicide note found by the police in the car, the Mittal family was heavily burdened by debt. Praveen Mittal wrote, “I have gone bankrupt due to loans from the bank. This is all because of me. Please don’t blame my father-in-law.” 

It is being reported that the family was under a debt of around Rs 15–20 crore and was receiving constant threats. This horrifying incident occurred inside a Dehradun-registered car parked outside house number 1204 in Sector-27, Panchkula.

Panchkula police have registered a case and started an investigation. At the same time, Dehradun police are also reaching out to other family relatives to try and understand why the family took such an extreme step.

As per the report by NDTV, in the suicide note family also requested that the last rites be performed by Mittal's cousin, identified as  Sandeep Agarwal, whom he spoke a five days ago.

Praveen Mittal had set up a scrap factory a few years ago in Himachal Pradesh's Baddi, which was later seized by the bank after the rise of debts. Later, Mittal, after being financially distressed, left Panchkula and moved to Dehradun, where he remained out of touch with the family for almost six years.

His cousin Sandeeo Agarwal confirmed that at the time of the move to Dehradun, he was having a debt amounting to around Rs 20 crore. Before returning to Panchkula a month ago, he moved to Kharar in Punjab, and later Pinjore in Haryana, where he stayed with his father-in-law.

Mittal, who belongs to Barwala in Hisar, was working as a taxi driver in the Saketri region of Panchkula. In addition, his two flats and vehicles were also seized by the banks.