Other States - Orissa   

Four of family die in suicide pact

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa might have got on to the path of progress by attracting huge investments in various sectors but abject poverty continues to force people to end their lives.

In a heartrending incident, four members of a family died while attempting mass suicide in Bargarh district on the eve of the Independence Day.

The head of the family Arjun Prahan (38), however, survived the suicide bid. He was battling for life in a government hospital at the district headquarter town of Bargarh.

The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday. All five members set out on a mission’ to get rid of the utter poverty embracing suicide path.

Family comprised Arjun, his wife Namita Pradhan (33), their three children Anjali Pradhan (15), Shankar Pradhan (12) and Vicky Pradhan (8). "We made our children consume pesticides. We too gulped down the poison to find an all time solution to our distress," Namita said in her dying statement as per the Bhatli Police Station in Bargarh district.

On Tuesday, the police received the news that three children were lying dead on embankment of pond near village Tukuda, seven km from Bargarh. "On reaching the spot we found two of the dead children having no injury mark on their body while youngest one had strangulation mark on his neck," Officer-in-Charge of Bhatli Police Station Amarendra Shandha said.

Initially, police thought it was case of murder. But when the news broke in media, the landlady, in whose house the family lived on rent, came forward to identify the children and narrated about the plight of the family.

On Wednesday morning, police again received the information that two persons were lying motionless in Tora area.

The two were later identified as Arjun and Namita.

Preliminary police investigation said Arjun was a jeep driver and used to earn a paltry sum of Rs 280 per week. The family hailed from Hinjilicut of Ganjam district, the constituency of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The family, which was going through severe financial crisis, had not been able to pay two months’ rent and charges towards grocery and vegetable, Mr. Shandha said. Even the children were not going to school. "Though postmortem report is awaited, we suspect, the youngest child might have refused to consume pesticide leading to his strangulation," the police official said.

The four bodies had been preserved for further investigation.

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