A goldsmith, his wife and their three daughters including an infant were found dead at their house in Salamath Nagar in Villupuram early on Friday.
Police identified the victims as M Arun, 33 of Palamalai, his wife Sivagami, 26 and daughters Dharshini, 5, Yuvashri and Bharathi (three months old).
Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that Arun had incurred heavy debt and suffered losses in business. Therefore, the couple poisoned their children before ending their own lives.
A police officer said that a few minutes after the couple had killed their daughters, Arun had shared a video on WhatsApp to his friends that he was taking the extreme step due to loss incurred by purchasing the illegal three-digit lottery tickets that was available in Villupuram.
He also appealed to his friends to take steps to ensure that lottery tickets were not sold illegally in Villupuram. This move would definitely save the lives of 10 others, he claimed in the video which went viral.
After seeing the video clip, Arun’s friends rushed to his home in panic and found them lying unconscious.
They were taken to the Villupuram Government Medical College and Hospital where doctors pronounced them dead. The Villupuram taluk police have registered a case
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s helpline 104 and Sneha’s Suicide prevention helpline 044 - 24640050.)
