Suicide pact? 4 Jain pilgrims from Karnataka found dead at Bihar ‘dharamshala’; 25 strips of sleeping pills, cash recovered

PATNA: In a suspected case of suicide, four Jain pilgrims from Karnataka— a woman, her two daughters and a son — were found dead under mysterious circumstances at a Jain ‘dharamshala’ at Rajgir in Nalanda district on Friday morning.

The bodies were found inside their room that had been locked from inside.


The family had checked into the dharamshala on Jan 31 but had kept their room locked from inside since Feb 2.

Prima facie, the incident appears to be a case of suicide, police said.

According to preliminary information, a foul smell was noticed coming from the room on Friday morning. When repeated calls went unanswered for a long time, the dharamshala management grew suspicious and informed the police. Police teams reached the spot and broke open the door.

Nalanda SP Bharat Soni said, “The room was locked from inside. After breaking open the door, the room was searched. Around 25 strips of sleeping pills, some cash, and other items were recovered from the spot. According to the forensic team’s preliminary report, the incident appears to be a case of suicide.”

The victims were identified as G R Sumangla (78), her two daughters Shilpa G R (48) and Shrutha G B (43) and son G R Naga Prasad (50). All were residents of Gubbi Taluka village in Tumakuru district of Karnataka.

“The pilgrims went to Delhi from Bengaluru. From there, they travelled to Nepal and came to Rajgir on Jan 31. The cause of death can only be determined after the post-mortem report and a detailed investigation by the forensic team,” the SP said, adding that the Bengaluru police has also been contacted to inform the families of the deceased.

The dharamshala has around 50 rooms, most of which are currently occupied by tourists.

Dharamshala in-charge Mukesh Jain said, “Four people came to the dharamshala on Jan 31. They said they had come to visit Rajgir while travelling from Nepal. One of the four persons submitted Aadhaar card. The name mentioned was G R Naga Prasad and the address was Bengaluru. The others did not provide identity cards.”