Daijiworld Media Network - Koppal (SP)

Koppal, Jun 22: A couple which was overtaken by a feeling of dismay and frustration at heavy loss suffered in hotel business and accumulation of debt that was staring them in the face, chose to feed poison to their two children. The couple then hanged themselves. This case of mass suicide came into the open on Sunday June 21.

The tragedy took place at Karatagi town in the district. Nagaraj Madder (32), who was running a hotel at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in the outskirts of town, his wife, Yamunamma (28), and children, Soumya (5), and Ashwini (3), lost their lives in this grisly incident.

Nagaraj had raised loans from private financiers for running hotel business. As the hotel did not have brisk business as expected by him, he and his wife were worried over the huge debt they had committed to repay. Finding no sources to meet this liability, with no prospects of change in fortunes of their hotel, and fearing for their image and standing, the couple ended lives, relatives of the family told the police. The police believe that the family would have perished together on Saturday night.

Karatagi police visited the spot on Sunday and arranged for postmortem examination of the bodies. A case of unnatural deaths was registered in the station.