Seven members of a family, including three children, were discovered lifeless at their residence in Gujarat's Surat city on Saturday, with the police suspecting a case of mass suicide, news agency PTI reported. The bodies of the seven family members were found in an apartment located in the Adajan locality, as per the report which cited confirmation from the local authorities. Furthermore, a note was recovered from their residence, suggesting that the family had taken this extreme step due to financial distress.
According to the report, the authorities determined that six of the individuals likely succumbed to the effects of ingesting a poisonous substance, while one member was found hanging.
The family comprises Manish Solanki, a 37-year-old contractor who was discovered hanging, his wife, parents, and their three children aged six, ten, and thirteen, who were found dead at their residence in Siddheshwar Apartment in Surat, the report said.
According to a Times Of India report, the names of the family members are: Manish Solanki, his wife Rita, his father Kanu, his mother Shobha, and three children - Disha, Kavya, and Kushal - who have all died.
DCP (Zone-5) R P Barot remarked, "We are working diligently to establish the precise cause of their deaths," as reported by PTI.
While Manish Solanki was found hanging, the six other family members appeared to have lost their lives after ingesting a toxic substance, according to the official.
According to the note retrieved from the house, the family took this extreme measure as a result of severe financial strain resulting from their inability to recover a debt owed to them. A bottle suspected to contain the poisonous substance has also been found, the report said.
Surat Mayor Niranjan Zanzmera noted, "It seems that Solanki administered the poison to his family members before taking his own life. The bodies are being sent for post-mortem examination," PTI reported.