A man on Wednesday killed his three daughters and then took his own life because he was apparently upset with the birth of a fourth daughter when his wife delivered a baby girl two weeks ago.
He first pushed his three daughters into a well, all minor, with the eldest being seven years old and the youngest just three, thereby drowning them, before he committed suicide in the Khambhalia village of the Junagadh district in the Saurashtra region.
His wife and newborn child were at her maternal home at the time of the incident.
The man and his family were struggling to make both ends meet as he had no fixed job. He occasionally served as a Gram Rakshak Dal jawan for the local police on a fixed honorarium.
“His relatives told us that he was upset after his wife delivered a fourth girl child just ten days back. He was also suffering from financial crunch,” a police official from Junagadh said.
Those who require assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts may contact 1800 233 3330 for the Jeevan Aastha Suicide Prevention Helpline in Gujarat or see https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/suicide-prevention-helplines/article25612310.ece.
