Family of 7, including 3 children, dies in suspected suicide over debt

In a deeply disturbing incident in Haryana's Panchkula, seven members of a family were found dead in a car on Monday night, in what police suspect to be a case of suicide driven by financial hardship.

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

The deceased include three children, their parents, and grandparents. One of the adults, believed to be the father, was found alive but died on the way to the hospital.

The car, a Dehradun-registered vehicle, was parked near an open plot in Sector 27 of Panchkula. A passerby, Puneet Rana, who first noticed the vehicle, said he was out for a walk when he saw a towel hanging from one of the car's doors, prompting him to check inside.

"I opened the door and saw a man inside, breathing heavily," Rana told reporters. "He said his family was under huge debt and that everyone else in the car had already consumed poison. He told me he would die in another five minutes and then collapsed."

Rana said he initially believed the family was simply resting in the car after failing to find accommodation.

However, when he shone his torch into the car, he saw several motionless bodies and vomit. He quickly offered the surviving man water and raised the alarm.