NEW DELHI: The ongoing investigation into the suicide of a family of five in southwest Delhi’s Rangpuri area revealed that Heera Lal’s wife’s death and subsequent financial crunch allegedly forced him to kill his four daughters before taking his own life.
Heera Lal and his daughters allegedly died by suicide at their home. The reasons were unraveled after a probe by the police.
The father had been working as a carpenter in Indian Spinal Injury Centre, Vasant Kunj since 1996 earning a monthly salary of Rs 38,000. After his wife passed away in August last year, he stopped going to work.
“An inquiry conducted from Indian Spinal Hospital revealed that the deceased hadn’t returned to work despite receiving repeated notices, and had not borrowed any money from anyone in the past year. He was the sole earner of the house and as struggling financially,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Rohit Meena said, adding that his deceased had only a small amount in his bank account, less than Rs 250.
Information gathered from the neighbours, colleagues and family members revealed that Heera Lal was reticent and introverted. He preferred to be alone and did not engage in conversations with others. As per the officer, his colleagues viewed him as a calm, god-worshipping man.
During the investigation, the police analysed Heera Lal’s movement using CCTV footage. One clip showed that on September 24, at 7:15 pm, the now-deceased came from Purana Kuan and Mata Chowk side carrying blue color polythene and reached his home around 7:20 pm.
In another CCTV footage, he was seen purchasing worship materials such as dhoop batti, kalawa thread, incense stick and other things from a shop namely Tiwari General Store some days before the incident.
When the police questioned the departmental store owner, he stated that Heera Lal had come to his shop on September 21 and paid him Rs 60 as pending payment.
Notably, TNIE exclusively reported on September 30 that the bodies of the four daughters were found lying on the floor of one of the rooms just “next to each other”, indicating that someone had kept their bodies in that manner.
Sinec the door of the house was bolted from inside, the police were sure that the father must have first poisoned his daughters. Once they all died, he arranged their bodies on the floor next to each other.
The preliminary autopsy report indicates varying levels of decomposition in four women and their father. The exact time of death will be determined once the complete post-mortem report is out.
Meanwhile, the investigators are still clueless about the source of poison. “An inquiry is underway to determine from where he purchased celphos as no clue has been found from where he purchased the said poison,” the officer said.
(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 - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)