VIJAYAWADA: In a shocking incident, four of a family from Telangana allegedly committed suicide in Vijayawada on Saturday.
The family hails from Nizamabad town of Telangana and reportedly arrived in Vijayawada city to visit Durga temple on Thursday.
One-Town police officials said, the victims—Pappula Suresh (56), his wife Srilatha (54) and their sons Akhil (28) and Ashish (24)—rented a room in Kanyaka Parameshwari Satram near Durga temple and had darshan of the deity on Friday.
On Saturday morning, the Satram staff discovered Srilatha and Ashish’s bodies, who allegedly died by consuming poison. The bodies of Suresh and Akhil were found in Krishna river near Prakasam Barrage.
“While the mother and younger son ended their lives by injecting heavy dose of insulin, the father and elder son jumped into the Krishna from Prakasam Barrage,” the police said.
Preliminary investigation carried out by West zone police revealed that financial problems and losses in business could have led the family to suicide. The police said Suresh ran a medical store in Nizamabad town while Akhil had leased a petrol bunk. The younger son Ashish was pursuing B Pharmacy in Nizamabad town and Srilatha was a homemaker.
Both Suresh and Akhil incurred losses in their respective businesses and the bank seized their house as they could not clear the loans. In addition, Suresh lost his shop due to road widening works in the town.
“Around 2 am on Saturday, Srilatha sent a voice message to her brother on WhatsApp saying they were ending their lives. The worried brother alerted the choultry management and the police. When the police opened the room they found at least 20 used vials of insulin and syringes in the room,” West Zone ACP K Hanumantha Rao said.
The bodies of the father and elder son were fished out of Krishna River. They were sent to Vijayawada GGH for postmortem.
Suicide Helpline
OneLife: 78930-78930
Roshni, Hyderabad-based NGO: 040-66202000