Suicide pact: Bengaluru man blames wife, says she’d fight over trivial issues

BENGALURU: A day after five members of a family, including a nine-month-old baby, were found dead in a house in Thigalarapalya off Magadi Road and cops termed it a suicide pact, tabloid editor Halagere Shankar told police that his wife is to blame.
Shankar’s wife, three children and grandchild were found dead on Friday evening. He submitted a nearly eight page report on the incident, blaming his wife Bharati Shankar for pushing others to take the step.
Decomposed bodies of Bharati, her children — Sinchana, Sindhurani, Madhu Sagar — and grandson (Sindhurani’s son) were recovered from the house. Madhu Sagar, an engineering graduate, worked with a private firm, while the couple’s daughters were married. The incident came to light when Shankar, who reportedly left home following a fight with Bharati and the others last week and remained incommunicado, returned home at 5.45pm.
“My wife would get upset over trivial issues and fight with me. My daughters too cultivated the same habit of quarrelling with their husbands and returning to our home. Bharati never advised them. Instead, she opposed me when I requested them to return to their husbands’ homes. Last week, my younger daughter came home after fighting with her in-laws over a trivial issue. We don’t face any financial problems,” Shankar told police.
Police said they haven’t searched the house yet. “Saturday went in autopsy and inquest. We took a detailed statement from Shankar. By Sunday or Monday, we will search the entire house for a possible death note. Prima facie, it was a suicide pact. We have to wait for baby’s autopsy report,” a senior officer said, adding: “Most importantly, we will take statements from Shankar’s two sons-in-law.”