5 of family die in suspected mass suicide in Bihar

Five members of a family - a middle-aged man, his wife, mother and two sons - were found hanging from the ceiling of their house in Bihar's Samastipur district on Sunday, police said.

The suspected mass suicide took place in Vidyapathi police station area, under the Dalsingh Sarai sub-division.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer Dinesh Pandey said the family's breadwinner Manoj Jha (50) drove an autorickshaw, besides selling ‘khaini’ (raw tobacco) to make both ends meet.

Neighbours claimed that Jha borrowed money from a number of people, and there had been tension in the family on account of penury and indebtedness.

Residents of Mau village grew suspicious in the morning when they saw the doors bolted from inside much after dawn.

Upon prising open the doors, they found Jha, his sons Shivam (7), Satyam (10), wife Sundarmani (38) and mother Sita Devi (67) hanging from the ceiling and informed the police.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and further investigation is underway, Pandey said.