An iron trader and his two minor children were found dead at their rented accommodation in Sector 11 of Panipat city, police said on Friday.
The police are suspecting it to be a case of family suicide after recovering the bodies of 40-year-old Ritesh Garg, his 15-year-old son Vansh and 10-year-old daughter Pushti. Ritesh’s wife Rekha, 35, however was found unconscious and is currently admitted to a private hospital where her condition is said to be critical, police said.
The incident comes barely two weeks after 11 members of a family were found dead at their home in Delhi’s Burari on July 1.
Preliminary investigation hints at a suicide angle as the house was locked from inside and the main door had to be broken to enter, police said, adding that it seemed the couple administered poison to the children, before hanging themselves from the ceiling.
The police suspect that the knot of scarf, with which Rekha allegedly tried to hang herself, loosened, as a result of which she fell down on the floor.
Police are now waiting for Rekha to gain consciousness, so they can know more about the incident.
According to relatives, Ritesh had been living at the rented house in Panipat for the last few years despite having iron foundries in Samalkha.
The incident came to light when Rekha’s relatives called up their landlord, Anil Batra, around 10pm to say that they had not been responding to phone calls. Batra saw the bodies from the window when he reached the house to check.
{{/usCountry}}The incident came to light when Rekha’s relatives called up their landlord, Anil Batra, around 10pm to say that they had not been responding to phone calls. Batra saw the bodies from the window when he reached the house to check.
{{/usCountry}}Police rushed the four to a nearby hospital, where Ritesh and the children were confirmed dead. Rekha was admitted to the facility in a critical state.
Panipat deputy superintendent of police Jagdeep Doon said the bodies have been sent to the city’s civil hospital for a postmortem examination.
Police have sealed the house, and samples acquired from the scene have been sent to the forensic science laboratory for an examination.