Teacher, son found hanging at home in Sambalpur

SAMBALPUR: A primary school teacher and her 35-year-old son were found hanging at their home in Tangarpali on Monday morning, two years after her younger son killed himself and 10 years since her husband had also died by suicide.
Police said the mother and son were suffering from mental health issues. The deceased were identified as Jyotsnarani Dash (55) and Sudhir Panda.
The incident came to light after the domestic help came for work in the morning. She found the door locked. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. When she opened the door with a spare key, she found the mother and son hanging from two ceiling fans. She raised an alarm following which neighbours informed the police.
The woman had last come to work on Saturday. "Everything was normal then. I told them that I would not come on Sunday. But when I came on Monday morning, I found them hanging," she said.
Police said Jyotsnarani was teaching at Ganmbharkata primary school under Sadar police station limits in Sambalpur. Ever since the deaths of her husband and son, Jyotsanarani and elder son Sudhir had been grappling with severe depression. They had also stopped socialising. Sudhir was married.
Two days back his wife had gone to her maternal home with their infant child. “Depression seems to be the reason behind the mother and son killing themselves,” said Sanaya Nayak, inspector in-charge of Ainthapali police station. Sudhir’s wife has been informed and the bodies sent for postmortem, the IIC said. Senior psychiatrist Amrit Pattojoshi said a family with suicidal history is prone to a recurrence of the tragedy.
“This mother-son duo could have been saved had they received proper mental care and counselling. Since two members of the family had already died by suicide, the depression level in other family members should have been addressed,” Pattojoshi said.