7 of family die in Hry, cops suspect suicide

Six members of a family originally from Hisar, Haryana, were found dead in a car parked in a vacant plot in Panchkula on Monday night, and a seventh died in hospital in what police suspect to be a suicide pact arising from financial distress.

- Naina Mishra

CHANDIGARH:

The police identified the deceased as a 42-year-old man, his wife, the couple's three children, including their 14-year-old son and 9-year-old twin girls, and the man's elderly parents.

Panchkula deputy commissioner of police Himadri Kaushik, said: "Prima facie, it appears to be a matter of suicide. However, further investigations are on."

According to the police, the man and his family shifted from Dehradun, Uttarakhand to his father-in-law's home in Pinjore, Haryana a year ago, and then, about a month ago, they moved to a rented accommodation in Saketri on the outskirts of Panchkula. Manish Chaudhary, who rented out two rooms to the family in Saketri said: "On Monday morning, the family called me to inform me that they were going to be travelling for three days."