CHENNAI: A 40-year-old techie from Pallavaram in Chennai allegedly killed his wife and children using an electric saw at his house before killing himself in the wee hours of Saturday. According to police, documents retrieved from the house suggest that the man, N Prakash, might have taken the extreme step due to mounting debt.
Two suicide notes were retrieved from the house saying the “decision” was jointly taken by him and his wife and that no one should be held responsible for it. Quoting the neighbours, police added that the family had gone to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary on Friday and returned home by 11 pm.
Prakash, along with his wife Gayathri (39) and children Nithyashree (13) and Harikrishnan (9), had moved to the house on Ishtachithi Vinayagar street at Pozhichalur in Pallavaram as tenants three months ago. While he worked in an IT firm, Gayathri owned a Siddha outlet in the locality. According to police, Prakash had bought a battery-operated electric saw on May 19 through an online shopping platform.
On Saturday morning, Ubaithullah, a resident of the street, heard the sound of an electric saw from Prakash’s house. Later, he opened the door of the house with Gayathri’s father, who was at the spot, and found the four lying dead in a pool of blood.
The Shankar Nagar police, who were informed, reached the spot and sent the bodies to Chromepet Government Hospital for postmortem examination. M Ravi, Commissioner of Police, Tambaram Commissionerate, said, “There were no signs of struggle at the spot. We suspect that Prakash must have given them sleeping pills before killing them.”
A senior police officer added that the couple had borrowed money from several people to expand Gayathri’s business. Police also found a document showing the family having a debt of more than Rs 10 lakh. Police added that they were gathering call records to check whether anyone who had lent them money tortured them.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm).