C’garh woman jumps in front of train with 5 kids

RAIPUR: A woman and her five daughters, aged between 10 and 17, died by suicide by jumping in front of a moving train in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district hours after they went missing, police said on Thursday. Officials said the woman took the step due to a marital dispute.

According to a press release issued by the Chhattisgarh government, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has ordered an inquiry in the matter. Mahasamund police said a case has been registered and the bodies have been sent for postmortem.

Superintendent of police Prafull Thakur said the woman went missing along with her daughters on Wednesday after a fight with her husband. “But her husband did not inform the police and was searching for them at their relatives’ places. On Thursday morning, someone saw the bodies on the railway tracks and informed police,” said Thakur. The SP said that the husband, in his statement, said he and his wife fought regularly over one issue or the other.

“So far, it appears to be a case of domestic violence. The woman was fed up and decided to take the extreme step,” SP Thakur said, adding that further investigation is on.

Meanwhile, the husband, while speaking to the media, repeated his point about having an altercation with his wife on Wednesday evening. He said that he is a porter at a rice mill and drinks regularly. Around 7pm, he had a tiff with his wife over money and then went to sleep.

His wife then left with the girls. “When I woke up at 11pm, I started looking for them but in vain. On Thursday, I heard about their death,” he said, adding that his wife was also worried about their daughters’ marriage. The Chhattisgarh government said in its press release that the family lived below the poverty line but owned two acres of land in a Mahasamund village and sold 26 quintals of paddy this year.

POLICE SAY THE WOMAN TOOK THE EXTREME STEP AFTER A MARITAL DISPUTE. CM ORDERS PROBE