Man poisons wife and kids, ends life

BANGALORE: A food pushcart vendor allegedly poisoned his wife and their two daughters before committing suicide in their Ayyappa Layout residence in Kodigehalli, near KR Puram, on Friday.
Nagesh, 38, consumed poison after killing Girija, 35, and their daughters Pavithra, 12, and Divya, 9. His daughters were in Class III and Class II in a nearby school.
Nagesh would sell food from his pushcart near ITPB. KR Puram police said his inability to repay loans drove the family to suicide. But a relative claimed that Nagesh had faced fights with other mobile eatery owners in the same area and this resulted in his financial ruin.
Sujatha, Girija's elder sister, said Nagesh routinely fought with other vendors over the location of their pushcarts.
"A few months ago, there was a fight between some men and Nagesh over the location of pushcarts, in which many of these mobile eateries were damaged. Following this, Nagesh's rivals filed a complaint with Mahadevapura police. Nagesh was arrested and in jail for 6 weeks and then released on bail. The family had to take a loan for lawyers' fees, etc," she said.
Nagesh came out of jail a few days ago and decided to resume his business near ITPB. He went to his usual spot on Thursday, but other eatery owners demanded Rs 1.5 lakh from him if he wanted to continue his business. They said they would withdraw the police complaint if he paid the money.
Police said Nagesh returned home depressed. He laced their dinner with poison. After his children and wife consumed it, he also ate the same food. Around 7am, when a few relatives came home and found their bodies, they informed the police.
Nagesh was a native of Mandya, while Girija was from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.