BERHAMPUR: A day after consuming poison in an alleged family suicide bid, the 40-year-old man of Paralakhemundi and his minor daughter succumbed during treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Subhasis Panigrahi along with his 11-year-old daughter Priyadarshini and eight-year-old son Bijayananda had consumed poison at their home in Odia Sahi of Paralakhemundi town in Gajapati district. The same day, Bijayananda died during treatment in Paralakhemundi hospital.
Sources said during lunch, Subhasis laced the food with poison and ate it with his children. After sometime, the trio started screaming in pain. On hearing their screams, neighbours rushed to their house and found them lying on the floor. They were taken to Paralakhemundi hospital where Bijayananda died. Subhasis and Priyadarshini were later shifted to MKCG MCH.
Locals said Subhasis’ wife Swetamanjari had died under mysterious circumstances in March this year following which an unnatural death case was registered in the Paralakhemundi police station. The case is still under investigation.
Though the exact reason behind Subhasis taking the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, locals believe that a dispute over property wiped out the three-member family. Besides, it is also suspected that Subhashis may have been struggling to cope with the recent death of his wife and this grief and mental distress could have contributed to the incident.
Postmortem on the deceased trio has been conducted and the reports are awaited. “We are trying to locate the relatives of the family to determine the reason and circumstances leading to the incident,” said police.
(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, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)