UP: 36-year-old man slits throats of his four children, dies by suicide

Family members revealed that Rajiv had suffered a severe head injury in an accident a year ago and was undergoing treatment.

A 36-year-old man allegedly killed his four children by slitting their throats before dying by suicide in Manpur Chachari village under Roza police station of Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district.

The murder was discovered Thursday morning by Rajiv's father who lives in an adjacent house

Rajiv Kumar allegedly killed his three daughters and a son, superintendent of police (SP) Rajesh Dwivedi told PTI on Thursday.

According to his family members, Kumar was undergoing treatment for his mental illness. He reportedly slit his children's throats with a sharp weapon and then died by suicide.

The murder was discovered Thursday morning by Rajiv's father who lives in an adjacent house, the PTI report added.

"When Rajiv did not open the doors in the morning, his father climbed the roof and went inside the house through the staircase. This is how he came to know about the incident," the police official told PTI.

Prithviraj, the brother of deceased, told reporters, "The children were lying in a pool of blood in a room while in the other room Rajiv was hanging from the ceiling."

Family members revealed that Rajiv had suffered a severe head injury in an accident a year ago and was undergoing treatment.

The injury had caused him to become easily agitated, they said, adding the injury significantly affected his mental state.

"After this he would often ask his wife when will you get the children slaughtered," Prithviraj said.

According to police, Rajiv's wife, Kranti, had left for her maternal home the previous day.

Kranti confirmed her husband's deteriorating mental health. "After the accident, my husband's jaw was broken and he also had a head injury. He often used to say that 'Now we will not survive, so first we will kill the children and then we will die,'" she said.

Wife alleges husband Rajiv was abusive

Kranti also alleged that her husband was abusive, and had beaten her six days before the incident, leading her to leave for her mother's house.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Rajiv Kumar used sandpaper to sharpen the weapon before killing his children. The weapon and sandpaper were recovered from the crime scene, police said.

The village is in shock after the incident. Village head Ashok Kumar said that neighbours are arranging for the deceased's last rites. Senior police officials, including SP Dwivedi, also visited the spot.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).