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(If you are suicidal or know anyone in distress, reach out to the numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs here.)
On 24 November, a family of five in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, made a suicide pact. Less than a week later, all five of them, and their three pets, were dead.
The elder daughter was 19, the younger one was a minor, a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
On 29 November, all five had succumbed to the poison in the hospital. Nandini Joshi and Sanjeev's younger daughter died on 26 November. His elder daughter passed away a day later. On 28 November, Sanjeev took his last breath, followed by the death of his wife Archana Joshi on 29 November.
Sanjeev Joshi owned an automobile parts shop, and his wife Archana ran a grocery shop from their house. They lived in Piplani's Anand Nagar locality in Bhopal.
Archana had fallen into the trap of loan sharks, who later started pestering the family for money.
"We have registered an FIR. Four women have been arrested and produced before the court. From there, they were sent to jail. The number of people of interest might increase as the investigation progresses," Station House Officer (SHO), Piplani, Ajay Nair told The Quint.
In a statement to the police, Sanjeev, who was then battling for his life in the hospital, said:
He had further alleged, "Babli and her daughter Rani were creating a ruckus over the money. So, I managed to arrange Rs 80,000 – but Babli said the amount only covered the interest and the principal amount of Rs 3.72 lakh was still due. We were very disturbed with their curses and their everyday harassment. We thought we will sell our house and repay the loan, but they wouldn't allow us more time."
In the suicide note, too, the family alleged that Babli and her accomplices were harassing the family regularly. "They had posted many people to watch over our house, and every move was being reported to Babli," it read.
This incident was the trigger for the family to make a suicide pact, according to the police.
A widow, Babli was living with her children, one of whom works in a stationary shop.
But all the four accused were engaged in private moneylending with daily interest.
Requesting anonymity, a police personnel told The Quint that in October 2021, Archana had approached the police and filed a written complaint (accessed by The Quint) against Babli .
Babli had threatened Archana that she would kill herself if the latter didn't pay her back. She had even said that she would name Archana in the suicide note.
Archana had asked the police to intervene and buy her time to arrange the amount. She, at the police station, had said that she was planning to sell her home and would return the money. The officer present at the time had got Babli to agree to the extension for paying back the loan.
However, according to the suicide note, Babli didn't wait for the agreed time and started harassing the Joshi family.
Besides the suicide note, the walls of Joshi's house read: "We are not cowards, we are helpless."
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