BELAGAVI: Depressed over the death of his wife due to mucormycosis (black fungus), a 46-year-old ex-serviceman died by suicide allegedly after killing his four children by feeding them poison at Borgal village in Sankeshwar.
Police said Gopal Hadimani was devastated by the death of his wife, Jaya, on July 6. She had contracted Covid-19 and later mucormycosis and died under treatment. Hadimani retired around three years ago.
BELAGAVI TRAGEDY
Man fed poison to children before killing himself: Cops
Police said the bodies were found on Saturday morning by neighbours who broke open the door when no one answered their repeated knocks. All five were found lying on the floor, police said. Sowmya, 19, and 16-year-old Shwetha were studying in a private
college in Sankeshwar town while Sakshi (11) and Srijan (8) were in school in Borgal. Villagers immediately informed police and Hadimani’s relatives.
Police suspect Gopal fed the poison to the children before he consumed it; sources said there were signs of struggle in the house. They are still looking for the poison or its remnants. More details will be known only after the autopsy report, police siad.
“I spoke to the children on Friday night on phone and they said they had eaten dinner at 9pm,” said Shobha, a relative. “I don’t know what happened later.” Neighbours said Hadimani had slipped into depression following Jaya’s death and had even stopped talking to them. He was still grieving the death of his wife while the children were slowly recovering, they said.
District minister Govind Karjol said he was deeply saddened by the deaths. “I urge people who are suffering from depression to seek help and not make any hasty decisions,” he said.
