A couple allegedly poisoned their two children to death before committing suicide in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, India.
The incident took place in the Neelbad area of the city on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
The deceased man, Bhupendra Vishwakarma, 38, who was debt ridden, had sent a WhatsApp message to his relatives at around 4 am informing them about his move.
The relatives read the message around 6 am after waking up and alerted the police at 6.30 am.
The man and his wife, Ritu, 34, were found hanging in a room. Their children, aged 8 and 3, were found in another section of the house.
According to TT Nagar Assistant Commissioner of Police, SP Chandrashekhar Pandey, the husband and the wife hanged themselves after poisoning their children, over a debt.
SP Pandey also said they recovered a suicide note and a packet of sulphate pills from the spot.
The deceased couple worked for a private insurance company.
They had taken a loan, which they had been unable to pay, he said, adding, all four bodies were sent for postmortem.
The suicide notes found on the spot narrated the couple’s ordeal. Here’s what it read –
“I can’t understand what to do and what not to do. I don’t know what has befallen our small, lovely family. We want to apologise to our family members. Due to my mistake, all the people associated with me have suffered a lot.
“We were living happily with our family. We had no worries or concerns. But in April, I received a message on my phone about an online job opportunity. Then I received another message on Telegram. Due to some extra money and my needs, I agreed to do additional work. I didn’t have much time to spare, so I started doing this job.”
“Initially, I benefited a little from it, but gradually I got stuck in a quagmire. Whenever I had a little time, I would start working on that job. Eventually, the workload became so overwhelming that I couldn’t keep track of the money I had invested in it. I couldn’t even use that money at home, and the pressure of work increased significantly.”
“Then I started receiving messages asking me to complete the order and withdraw my commission (money). But it was a quagmire from which it was difficult to escape. When all my money ran out, the company started asking me to take a loan,”
“I refused because my credit was already so bad that I couldn’t get a loan from anywhere. But at the insistence of the company, I made an attempt and ended up getting a loan,”
“Before starting this job, I had checked a website, which was an e-commerce company. That company works for TRP. It started in Colombia in 2022 after COVID. I started working for them, but I didn’t know that I would end up in such a situation.”
“No one in my family, including my wife, knew about this work. Whenever she saw me, she would just say not to do anything wrong. And I would say in refusal that I’m doing it for your happiness. But I couldn’t understand what I had gotten myself into.
“The company I worked for four years ago had shut down, and my credit had been ruined. After becoming a victim of online fraud, I thought that I would clear everyone’s loans after receiving a little more money. But I couldn’t imagine that things would get this bad,”
“The online job people put so much pressure on me regarding the loan that I myself became astonished. I realized that I had been deceived. They started threatening me on every occasion. I hadn’t even used this money for myself; I couldn’t even touch it. The company offered me a loan, and taking the money, I put it back into the company.”
“In June, the burden of the loan kept increasing, and the loan recovery agents started threatening me. Somehow, I managed to arrange for the EMI payment in June, but in July, the loan agents hacked my phone, extracted its details, and started blackmailing my relatives, friends, and colleagues. They even used my boss’s profile picture wrongly. I feel quite guilty about it.
“All my acquaintances are suffering because of my mistake. Everyone is being blackmailed. I went to the Cyber Crime Office with this information, but due to the lack of officers and their leave, the case got delayed. I went to the Cyber Crime Office again.
“I met a lawyer to prepare the application. He has asked for some time for drafting. But I am in a state where I can’t talk to anyone or meet anyone. No one understands that I have already fallen into my own eyes.”
“I am on the verge of losing my job. I can’t see my future or my family’s future. I am not worthy of facing anyone. How will I face my family? I want to apologize to my father, mother, grandparents, siblings, my dear sisters, and my beloved daughter. Please forgive us. I am helpless. Maybe everything will be better after we are gone.”
“My only request is that after we are gone, please don’t trouble my family members for the loan. Don’t trouble any relatives or colleagues. I apologise to my father-mother, grandparents, three sisters, two elder brothers, Antu, and both years. Please forgive us,”
“This is where our journey ends. Our final wish is that there should be no postmortem and everyone’s last rites should be performed together, so that we remain together.”
