A doctor couple died by suicide at their residence in Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh. A two-page suicide note is retrieved on the spot.
The incident came to light when their son reached the home after a vacation and found the dead bodies.
The deceased were Dr. Balbir Kathoria, 58, and Dr. Manju Kathoria, 55, residents of Nandan Vatika Colony in Bina town of Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh. They were working at the state health department. Dr. Balbir worked at the community health center in Kurwai of Vidisha district, which was 20 km away from Bina, and Dr. Manju was a gynecologist at Bina Civil Hospital. Their son Prateek is studying MBBS at AIIMS-Patna, and their daughter died; she committed suicide three years ago under academic pressure.
According to the police, their son, who is on vacation, had talked to his father, Dr. Balbir, the previous night at 10 p.m. He told them that he was coming home for a few days. But, when he reached Bina in the early morning, he noticed the main gate of the house was kept open. After reaching the first floor of the house, he was shocked to see the whole incident. His father was hanging from a ceiling fan, and his mother was lying dead on the bed. He immediately informed the police. They sent a team to the spot. The team after checking the spot requested a forensic team. A suicide note is found near Dr. Balbir's body and a syringe and cotton are found on the bed where Dr. Manju was dead, which denotes that she injected poison to end her life.
In the suicide note, it was written that they were taking this extreme action due to financial issues. It was also mentioned that they are facing harassment by private banks and financial institutions for being unable to repay the loans. The couple's daughter, Purva was a bright student, she prepared for the medical entrance exams. However, she suffered from acute depression due to academic pressure and allegedly committed suicide three years ago.
The local police also investigated the information that the doctor’s couple plans to buy a house in Bhopal, and they also made a deal with someone to sell their home in Bina’s town to buy the house in Bhopal.
The police said that according to the preliminary investigation, it was a suicide case, but it did not rule out the possibility of foul play. So, the exact cause of the death would be known after the post-mortem.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/Lavanyabeeraboina)