CHENNAI: A 39-year-old man who was upset over bad debt allegedly killed four members of his family, including his two children, at Thiruvalluvar Nagar in Pammal here on Tuesday morning.
The man also attempted suicide.
According to St Thomas Mount district police sources, Damodaran is reported to have used a sharp weapon to assault his mother Saraswathi (68), his wife Geetha (35) and his two children Roshan (7) and Meenakshi (5).
Damodaran had called his brother-in-law Prakash over phone informing that he was depressed over losses and bad debts and want to put an end to his life, the police said. Prakash had asked Damodaran to be calm and not to resort to any extreme step, they added.
Meanwhile, Damodaran had assaulted his mother, his wife and two children before inflicting an injury on self.
According to the police, Damodaran had also called an ambulance. Paramedical staff who noticed Damodaran bleeding and took him too in the ambulance. While Saraswathi and Geetha died on the spot, the two children were pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.
Damodaran is undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, police said, adding further investigations are on.