Businessman, 6 of his family found dead at Surat home; police suspect mass suicide

Surat Deputy Commissioner of Police Rakesh Barot told The Indian Express, “Solanki ran a furniture business and took contracts at newly developed construction sites. He allegedly gave poison to his family members and later hanged himself. A suicide note, which he purportedly wrote, has been recovered. We are carrying out an investigation to find out more information.”

In the purported suicide note, the details of which were shared with The Indian Express, Solanki wrote, “I only knew how I was passing my days. I am worried about my wife, children, and my parents as they cannot live without me. The reason behind taking such an extreme step is that there are some people behind it but I don’t want to name them. I have not troubled anybody in my life, so why should I give trouble to anybody after my death? People have not returned my money. I am not here to take revenge on them. It is God who will act against them. I helped many people in my life. ”

Surat Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Tomar said, “We have formed a SIT to probe into the incident and the team consists of Deputy Commissioner of Police Rakesh Barot, two assistant commissioners of police of the Surat Crime Branch, and the Adajan Police Inspector. The technical teams of the Surat crime branch will also work jointly.”

Officials aware of the details at the Adajan Police Station, under whose jurisdiction the flat falls, said the incident came to light on Saturday morning when neighbours reported that a foul smell was emanating from the flat. It was when nobody responded to the doorbell that the residents informed the Surat Police Control Room.

Police immediately reached the spot, broke open the main door, and found the seven bodies inside the house. The deceased have been identified as Manish Solanki (35), his wife Rita (32), and children Disha (7), Kavya (5), and Khushal (3) whose bodies were found in the bedroom. His parents Kantilal Solanki (65) and mother Shobhna (60) were also found dead at the home.

Solanki hailed from Savarkundla in the Amreli district and had been staying with his family in Surat for long. He owned four flats in the same building where he resided, as per the details available with the police.

Surat Mayor Daxesh Mawani also visited the spot, met the relatives of the deceased, and paid his condolences. He also assured them that police were carrying out investigations into the case. The postmortem was carried out at New Civil Hospital on Saturday afternoon.