Karnataka: Five members of a local newspaper editor family including nine-month-old baby found dead

Five members of a family, including a nine-month-old child, were found dead at their residence at Thigalarapalya in Byadarahalli on Friday evening. While the child starved to death, others hanged themselves, the police said.

The bodies were highly decomposed as they committed suicide four days ago. Another child, who is two-and-half-years old, survived miraculously without food or water. A family dispute is said to be the reason behind the suicide pact, the police said.

The deceased have been identified as Bharathi (51), Sinchana (34), Sindhurani (31), her nine-month-old son, and Madhu Sagar (25). All the bodies were shifted to Victoria Hospital for postmortem. The incident came to light around 5 pm on Friday when Bharathi’s husband Shankar Hallagere returned home.

He noticed the doors locked from inside and opened one of the windows to find his family members hanging. He alerted the police, who broke open the door and shifted the bodies. The surviving child was admitted to a nearby hospital. The neighbours did not hear the cries of the two-and-half-year-old child. No suicide note was found.

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Shankar, who runs a local newspaper, married Bharathi a few years ago. Sinchana, Sindhurani and Madhu were their children. The couple quarrelled frequently and on Sunday too they fought, and Shankar walked out in a huff.

He stayed in his office for two days and then went to Mysuru to meet his friends. After returning on Friday, he went to the house and saw the horrific sight. Police rescued Sinchana’s 2.5-year-old daughter, who was very feeble but conscious. “It is a miracle she survived the ordeal.

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It may have been at least three days since the adults died,” said Soumendu Mukherjee, Additional Commissioner (West), who visited the spot. The girl was rushed to a nearby private hospital where she is being treated. Doctors have said her condition is stable, the police said.