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Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on March 20, 2024
Woman and twin sons set themselves ablaze in Bengaluru, police suspect financial crisis
Vijayanand, 63, found the charred bodies of his wife Sukanya and sons Nikith and Nishith after he noticed smoke coming from their rented home, according to police.
While the police are yet to ascertain the reason behind their alleged suicide, an officer said the family was in a financial crisis. (Representational photo)
A 53-year-old woman and her 28-year-old twin sons died after they allegedly set themselves on fire at their rented house in south Bengaluru on Wednesday morning.
Police identified the deceased as Sukanya Vijayanand, Nikith and Nishith, all residents of JP Nagar.
The incident took place inside a room around 8 am, when Sukanya’s husband Vijayanand, 63, was reading the newspaper in the living room, according to the police. As smoke started emitting from the ground-floor room, Vijayanand and a neighbour broke open its door because it was locked from inside, only to see the charred bodies of his wife and children.
The police investigation suggested the three might have taken some sedative before setting themselves on fire, as they did not scream when they were charred to death.
While the police are yet to ascertain the reason behind their alleged suicide, an officer said the family was in a financial crisis.
The police officer said, “The family hailed from Udupi and shifted to Bengaluru 10 years ago. They were running a dye factory in Suddaguntepalya but it was closed last year following losses incurred during Covid lockdown.”
An MCA graduate, Nishith was working in a software company and he was also physically disabled, the officer said. Nikith had worked in Mumbai after studying computer animation. He returned to Bengaluru three months ago and was searching for a job.
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“Sukanya gave tuition to children in the evening. Vijayanand does not work,” the officer added.
The police have registered a case of suicide and are investigating.
The officer said that officials from a bank visited their home on Monday over a pending loan. “The loan amount was not more than Rs 1 lakh. We are checking if they had taken loans from other sources,” he added.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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