Bizman dies by suicide after poisoning kids in Ganjam dist

Berhampur: Nearly two months after his wife's death, a 40-year-old businessman allegedly poisoned his two minor children before killing himself in Paralakhemundi, the district headquarters town of Gajapati. Subhasish Panigrahy, a resident of Odia Parala Street, reportedly gave poison-laced food to his daughter Priyadarshini (11) and son Bijayananda (7) on Wednesday. All three began vomiting and were taken to the district headquarters hospital by police after a neighbour alerted them. Bijayananda died during treatment at the district headquarters hospital, Paralakhemundi, on Wednesday afternoon. Subhasish and Priyadarshini were shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, where they died on Thursday morning.Though the exact cause of the incident is under investigation, police suspect a property dispute with his father and two brothers and financial stress might have driven Subhasish to take the extreme step. Police said Subhasish's wife, Sweta Manjari, had allegedly killed herself on March 21 by consuming poison. Following her death, Subhasish was looking after the children. He earlier owned an eatery, which had to be shut down due to losses. Later, he managed a lodge owned by his father, which was also closed and eventually sold off. Police said Subhasish and his children were found unconscious and taken to hospital. "We seized the cooked biryani, which they had consumed before their death, water, and samples of vomit from the house. All the samples would be sent to the forensic laboratory for testing," said Paralakhemundi police station IIC Prasant Bhupati. Subhasish's father and brothers, who live in the same town, did not respond when informed about the incident, police said.