3 of a family die by suicide over alleged threats in UP’s Fatehpur

PRAYAGRAJ: Blood-soaked bodies of three members of a family-- a woman, her son, and brother-in-law -- were found inside their house in Chauferava village of Fatehpur district on Wednesday evening, police said.Preliminary investigation pointed to a possible suicide pact amid financial distress, they said. Police said all three had deep wounds on their necks and slit wrists. Three empty pouches of aluminium phosphide, commonly known as sulphas, and four blood-stained blades were recovered from the room. The deceased were identified as Sushila Srivastava (55), her son Amar Srivastava (28), and her brother-in-law Sunil Kumar Srivastava (54). A suicide note, reportedly written by Amar Srivastava, suggested the family took the extreme step due to threats of being falsely implicated under the SC-ST Act over a financial transaction. ADG (Prayagraj Zone) Jyoti Narayan told TOI Sushila's husband, Sushil Kumar Srivastava, 58, a driver by profession, had gone to his daughter's house earlier in the day. "When Sushil returned home, he found the main gate of the house locked from inside. Finding no response, he called neighbours, who then managed to open the gate with the help of an iron rod. After entering, they found the bodies of Sushila and Amar while Sunil was critically injured. Police took Sunil to district hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries," ADG said. The ADG said the father has verified the writing of his son in the suicide note and admitted that they faced financial hardship for a long time. "The exact sequence of events will be clear after the postmortem and forensic reports. We are also verifying the allegations mentioned in the suicide note," the ADG said.