Bhandup suicide probe goes slow

The murder-suicide of the Jain family at Bhandup remains a mystery to the police, who are waiting for the rest of the family to return from Rajasthan, where they have gone for the funeral.

The murder-suicide of the Jain family at Bhandup remains a mystery to the police, who are waiting for the rest of the family to return from Rajasthan, where they have gone for the funeral.

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On Friday, 25-year-old trader Dinesh Jain killed his wife Monika (22) and two daughters Harsha (3) and Toshika (9 months) before killing himself at their flat at Jalaram Park at Bhandup.

The post-mortem report has confirmed that all four deaths were due to suffocation. Jain smothered Monika with a pillow, strangled the children with rope, then hanged himself.

“Jain’s elder brother and parents had gone to Udaipur for a religious function when the incident happened. We expect they will give us some clues about Jain’s motive. As of now, all the relatives are in Rajasthan for the funeral, which is why we haven’t been able to speak to anyone so far,” said Vilas Shinde, senior police inspector, Bhandup police station.

“Initially, there were rumours that Jain had poisoned his children but there is no sign of frothing at the mouth, which is characteristic of poisoning. The post-mortem report confirmed the family died of suffocation,” Shinde added.

Besides a case of accidental death, the police have registered a murder case against Jain. They recorded statements of some neighbours and Jain’s paternal uncle who had helped break open the door of the flat on Friday. “We don’t have anything yet to give the investigation a direction,” Shinde said.