Debt drives Delhi family of four to suicide

The charred bodies of a 48-year-old businessman, his wife and two sons were found at their home in west Delhi’s Mohan Garden on Saturday morning with the police saying they committed suicide by burning themselves.

The charred bodies of a 48-year-old businessman, his wife and two sons were found at their home in west Delhi’s Mohan Garden on Saturday morning with the police saying they committed suicide by burning themselves.

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According to the police, two separate suicide notes were found — one written on the wall stating that the family was depressed after being allegedly harassed by a family living in their neighbourhood over a property dispute. In the second suicide note, the victims blamed three members of the family for harassing them and forcing them to take the extreme step.

According to the police, the deceased businessman, Rajendra Prakash Saxena, was under heavy debt and had to pay loans worth over Rs 40 lakh, which was loaned from several people and banks. The other deceased were identified as Saxena’s second wife Amita Singh, 30, and sons, Sanyam Prakash, 10 and Tipu, 8.

The police said Saxena, who ran a snacks-manufacturing company in Bawana, had purchased the second-floor and third-floor flats from his neighbour Buta Ram and had paid him Rs 15 lakh. But for the past few months, Ram, his wife Usha Rani and son Sukhdev were allegedly demanding more money. The three accused have been detained on the charge of abetment to suicide.