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Ludhiana | Agri dept official poisons 8-yr-old son, kills self in office
The 37-year-old ADO, who was posted in the department of agriculture and farmer welfare, and her son were rushed to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital where they were declared dead on arrival.
In a shocking incident, an agriculture department officer (ADO) poisoned herself and her eight-year-old son in her office on the Punjab Agricultural University campus on Monday.
The 37-year-old ADO, who was posted in the department of agriculture and farmer welfare, and her son were rushed to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital where they were declared dead on arrival.
Her colleague, who did not wish to be named, said the victim’s cabin was secluded from the general area where the rest of the staff worked. “Monday was the first time that the ADO had brought her son to work with her. Her husband, a senior officer at a private bank, had dropped them in the morning.”
On whether the ADO seemed upset, the colleague said, “We were to conduct some chemical tests that day, but she refused to perform them saying she was ‘not in the mood’ and went to her cabin.”
Assistant sub-inspector Harcharan Singh, who is investigating the case, said, “The matter came to light in the evening when her husband came to her office after the victim did not answer his calls.”
Door locked from outside
“The door of the cabin was locked from outside. The staff opened the lock using a duplicate key and were shocked to find the woman and her son unconscious. The victims were rushed to the hospital, but could not be saved,” said the ASI.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that the ADO locked the door from outside and entered the cabin from the back door, after which she poisoned her son and herself,” he added.
The reason for taking the extreme step has not been ascertained yet. Inquest proceedings have been initiated under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on the statement of the ADO’s father.
Inspector Harpreet Singh, PAU station house officer, said, “The woman’s parents do not suspect any foul play. They said that their daughter was “oversensitive” but they did not know what had triggered her to take the extreme step. No suicide note was recovered from the cabin nor was anything found on her phone,” he said.
police have also scanned her mobile phone, but nothing was found in it also.
