In a disturbing video that has gone viral on social media, a Bengaluru man, identified as Suresh Babu, can allegedly be seen hanging his minor son to death in an incident that reportedly took place in the wee hours of Sunday, 2 June. The man’s wife was also found hanging inside the residence, when neighbours barged into the house on Sunday morning, alerted by the commotion, reported The Times of India.
The video, captured by his 17-year-old daughter, appears to have been shot inside a residence where the father can be seen committing the crime, while his daughter can be heard crying and begging him to stop.
The 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder of his wife and son under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
According to Suresh’s statement to the police, the deaths of the 45-year-old mother Geetha Bai and 12-year-old son Varun, was a case of a ‘suicide pact’ gone wrong, said the TOI report.
Initially on Sunday, 2 June, Suresh Babu had reportedly told the police that his wife had killed herself due to financial issues – but the video of the incident shows the daughter trying to stop him from hanging his son. Suresh claimed that the family, residing in HAL’s Vibhutipura in east Bengaluru, was apparently under great financial stress, which was why they had decided to kill themselves, according to TOI.
‘Suicide Pact’ Gone Wrong?
Babu, who works as a sales executive in a private firm, alleged that the family had decided to take the extreme step due to their dire financial condition, said the report. However, it quoted him saying that his daughter’s last-minute change of heart is what threw the plan out of gear.
According to Babu’s statement in the report, he would have followed through with killing himself as well had his daughter not raised the alarm and drawn the neighbours’ attention, who then rushed to their house at 2:30 am.
What is in the Viral Video?
In the video, the man, identified as Suresh Babu, is seen forcibly hanging his son, Varun, from the ceiling fan, while his wife is seen pacing the room in agitation, and in one instance, holding the boy by the legs. The mother and daughter can also be heard sobbing, while the girl can be heard asking her father in Marathi to let her brother ago.
Towards the end of the video, Babu can be seen sitting next to Varun’s body on a bed, with the boy’s mother standing nearby.
“Babu’s 17 year-old daughter filmed her father on her mobile phone forcefully hanging her brother. She may have sent the clip to someone and later it went viral. Babu was arrested and is being interrogated.”Abdul Ahad, deputy commissioner of police (Whitefield) to TOI
According to reports, police has stated that the family belongs to the Maharashtra-Gujarat border region and that Geeta used to work as a domestic worker.
(With inputs from The Times of India)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)