The residents of Pozhichalur outside Chennai were in for a shock on Saturday, May 28, after news emerged of a gruesome death of a family of four in their neighbourhood. As they went to check on their neighbour Prakash, they found him and his family dead, lying in pools of blood. Prakash (41), his wife Gayathri (39) and their two children Nithyashree (13) and Hari Krishna (9) were found with their throats slit on the morning of Saturday.
Prakash was an employee at TCS in Chennai. Based on evidence found on his phone, the police said that he faced massive debts, which may have driven him to take his family’s life and his own.
Police rushed to the spot after they were alerted by Gayathri’s father, who grew suspicious as the house lights were on and the doors locked even after daybreak. As per a preliminary investigation, the police found that the victims’ throats were slit using an electric wood cutter, and it is suspected that Prakash killed his wife and children before taking his own life. Later, the four bodies were retrieved and sent to the government hospital for post-mortem. Further details on why the motive can be ascertained based on a detailed inquiry, the S6 Shankar Nagar police, who are investigating the case, added.
Addressing the media, Tambaram Police Commissioner M Ravi said that Prakash had ordered the electric wood cutter on Amazon, and it was delivered by May 19. “Prima facie it looks like he (Prakash) had used a battery-operated saw to slit the necks of the wife and two children and afterwards, he held the electric cutter in his right hand and he too slit his throat This battery operated saw was delivered to them on May 19 by Amazon. They had two phones, we have not gotten access to the phone using their finger prints,” he told the media on Saturday.
He also added that the police found what looks like a suicide note written in English in the house. “There was a note written by Prakash in English that said that nobody had pushed them into killing themselves. But we will still probe into what happened,” he said.
The Tambaram police said that the neighbours saw the door to the family’s house open on Saturday morning, and informed the police. The police are still awaiting for details that will be revealed in the postmortem but going by the blood stains they found in the house, are pegging the deaths to have taken place between 11:30 pm and 12:30 am.
But the neighbours neither heard nor saw any signs of disturbance from the house on the fateful night, the police say. “Nobody around has heard any loud noise coming from their house. We also found tumblers around so it looks like they might have given something to the kids (sedatives) and then killed them. If there had been force, the hands and legs would be placed differently. But it looks like they are just lying down,” the Tambara Police Commissioner added.
The forensic team has gotten access to the two phones found in the house and will look for clues on what led to the family taking a drastic step, the police said.
After getting these details, we will expand the inquiry from different angles, including mounting debts and the blackmail (from debtors),” M Ravi said. “They had two phones so we have not gotten access to the phone using their finger prints. We will be analysing the data, call records on those phones to see if there were huge debts they owe anyone or was there any other issue they faced or any coercion from others,” he added.
Fingerprint experts are examining the house and the police say that several blood-stained footprints were seen inside the house. The forensic experts will analyse and match them with Prakash's footprints, the police said.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.
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