Family of 5 Found Dead, Debt-Driven Murder-Suicide Pact Suspected

Police believe debt-ridden businessman Om Prakash was forced by “financial burden” to take the extreme step.

Five members of a family, including a 4-year-old, were found dead in the outskirts of Gundlupet, in Mysore’s Chamrajanagar, early on Friday, 16 August, in what police believe to be a planned murder-suicide pact.

Om Prakash, 38, is believed to have shot dead his entire family, including his parents Nagaraja Bhattacharya (65), Hema Raju (60), wife Nikitha (30) and their son Arya Krishna (4) at an abandoned farm house near the Bandipur road in the wee hours of Friday.

Chamarajnagar SP Anand Kumar told The Quint that the family appeared to have been shot dead ‘with their consent’, as there was no sign of resistance.

“As of now, it is looking like financial burden forced them to take the extreme step. He [Prakash] was in a BPO, had a data company and was also brokering for mining projects and real estate. But in all his businesses, he had suffered huge losses, and all his investments were borrowed. We know that they went to the farmhouse with the intention of taking this step.”

Anand Kumar, SP, Chamarajnaga

Police confirmed that no suicide note was found at the place from where the bodies were recovered. They added that forensic teams were combing the family’s car, residence in Mysore and the hotel room they had taken up in Gundlupet, for more information.

The family lived in Mysore’s Hebbal and had gone to stay in a homestay in Gundlupet on Tuesday. Late on Thursday, they rented an Innova car with a driver who drove them from the homestay and was later sent away once they reached the destination.

Police said that the bodies were found 500 metres away from the highway, on the road leading to Bandipur from Gundlupet.

Om Prakash’s father, Nagaraj Bhattacharya, was into astrology and, contrary to reports, was not co-running any business with his son.

Earlier in August, CCD founder VG Siddharatha, whose body was recovered from the Netravathi river after he went missing for a couple of days, is also believed to have taken his life due to the financial crisis he was in.