A two-year-old girl survived with the bodies of her five family members for three days after they allegedly died by suicide at their Bengaluru home. But another nine-month-old infant starved to death. The two-year-old was finally rescued on Friday and the shocking details of the deaths emerged as H Shankar returned to his home after five days and realised his family had met a tragic end, police said. Only his granddaughter was alive.
“We found out that there were five bodies inside the house. A baby was found alive…. we don’t know the reason behind the deaths. We have rescued the child,” police officer Sanjiv M Patil said, adding that the “bodies had started decomposing by the time they were found”.
The incident took place in the house of Halageri Shankar, owner-cum-editor of a Kannada tabloid, near Chethan Circle in the area.
The deceased are his wife Bharati, 51, daughters Sinchana, 34, and Sindhu Rani, 31, son Madhusagar, 25, and nine-month-old grandson (Rani’s child). All four adults were found hanging in different rooms of the house. The girl who has been rescued is Sinchana’s daughter Preksha.
Deputy commissioner of police (west) Sanjeev M Patil said the incident came to light around 5.45pm when Shankar returned home.
Preliminary investigation revealed Shankar was away from home for a few days and had remained incommunicado.
On reaching home, he found the door locked from inside. He peeped through the window, only to find his family members dead.
Jurisdictional Byadarahalli police rushed to the spot and found all four adults hanging, while Rani’s son was lying dead on the bed. Police suspect the child might have died due to starvation.
“The reason behind the extreme step of the deceased persons is yet to be known. Police teams are searching the house to know if they left any suicide note. Experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory are examining the scene,” said Patil.
