Hyd techie ends life after killing wife, kids

HYDERABAD: A debt-laden software engineer committed suicide after killing his wife and two children. Police said the four bodies were recovered from their home on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Monday. “The incident might have occurred on Saturday,” said V Ashok Reddy, inspector of L B Nagar police station.

The engineer left behind a suicide note addressed to his father, citing mounting debts as the reason for his act. He took out a ~22-lakh home loan from a housing finance company and several loans to construct a house and to start a business.

“I didn’t realise that I have been sucked into a debt trap, till one of the lenders started calling. I couldn’t sell the house as my mother’s memory is linked to it ...I don’t want to make my wife and children a burden on you.

Hence, I have decided to take them along with me. This is my last message to you,” he wrote.

The matter came to light on Monday after the wife’s brother, also a software engineer, came calling. “I got suspicious when nobody opened the door. Then, I informed the police.” The brother, who filed a complaint said the engineer had borrowed money to start a business. “We have booked a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 174 (suicide) of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Reddy said.

The wife’s father ruled out a suicide-pact and said it was likely she knew nothing of the engineer’ s stress or plans .“She spoke to me last week and didn’t sound unhappy,” he said. The bodies have been sent to Osmania General Hospital for post-mortem.

(For help or counselling, call on the following suicide helplines: 022 27546669,

+914424640050, 011 24311918)