Kamal Ghorui
AGRA: A couple and their three children — aged 2, 4 and 5 years — were found dead in their house in Mathura district on Tuesday morning, with prima facie reports suggesting they died by suicide. Police said a note was scribbled on the room’s wall and they also recovered a 48-second video from the man’s mobile.ADG (Agra zone) Anupam Kulshrestha said, “It seemed to be a case of mass suicide. Manish Kumar, 35, a local farmer, made the video, wrote on the wall and in a diary stated that he took the extreme step on his own and no one should be held responsible for their act. All angles, including occult practice, are being probed.”The incident took place in the district’s Khapparpur village, said SSP Shlok Kumar. He added that the deaths came to light when Manish’s elder brother, Sudhir, who lives nearby, didn’t notice anyone coming out from the house in the morning. He then scaled the outer wall and found the bodies inside the room.A police team arrived and sent the bodies for postmortem. Those found dead included Manish; wife Seema, 32; daughters Hunny, 5, and Priyanshi, 4; and son Pankaj, 2.Preliminary probe indicated that Manish had first strangled the children with a rope, then fatally struck his wife with a heavy object, and killed himself by electrocution. “The clip is believed to have been recorded between 4am and 5am,” police said, adding that the mass suicide act purportedly spanned for about two hours.According to police, the note in Hindi stated, “I, Manish and Seema are committing suicide of my own will. Police should not bother anyone.” In the purported video, Manish can be heard making a similar statement, possibly minutes before killing himself.His neighbour said that Manish, who was married about eight years ago, used to work on around three bighas of ancestral land in Mathura district and did not have any pending loans. His daughters were enrolled in the village school. His two brothers stay separately in the same village.Elder brother Sudhir said, “I’m unaware of any family stress. In the video, he mentioned that he sold a plot for Rs 19 lakh, and around Rs 7 lakh was due, but clearly mentioned that it was not the cause of their decision to die.”According to a senior cop, Manish may have had a history of “psychiatric issues”.
