Varanasi Mass Suicide: Abetment case filed against 3 AP persons

Varanasi Mass Suicide Case: According to the police, the two and a half page suicide note left by the deceased revealed that the victim had paid back Rs 5 lakh loan but the concerned agency owner continued harassing them to pay another Rs 6 lakh. An abetment case has been booked against three AP persons and the UP police are going to East Godavari to question the accused.

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) : Police have registered a case against three people in the AP family mass suicide case. On Wednesday, Konda Babu, a resident of East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, committed suicide along with his wife and two young sons at Kashi Kailash Bhawan in Devnathpur of Dashashwamedh police station area. Konda Babu and Betak Rajesh used to work with them. Rajesh had also borrowed Rs 6 lakh from these people.

The UP police is preparing to go to Andhra Pradesh for questioning the accused, who included Pethgatala Prasad, owner of Divya Auto Consultancy, resident of East Godavari, Two other accused are Ramireddy Veera Lakshmi, a woman working there and Malli Babu, who runs a sweet shop. They will be taken into custody for questioning.

According to the police, the two and a half page suicide note written in Telugu revealed that Rajesh had somehow paid back Rs 5 lakh by selling the jewelery of the house, but the agency owner was harassing the entire family to get another Rs 6 lakh. Along with getting a personal bond made from Rajesh, he had also taken a blank cheque and got it signed on a plain paper.

Rajesh tried his best to return the money but the agency was demanding Rs 6 lakh with interest instead of the remaining Rs 1 lakh. There were repeated threats that the entire family would be destroyed. The family was so troubled that just 2 months ago the whole family left their home in Andhra Pradesh and was changing places.

Police is considering the death of four people of the same family as mass suicide. Police say that the investigation will be carried forward on the basis of other aspects also. There are many questions before the police during the preliminary investigation of the incident. Due to which no conspiracy can be ruled out in this incident. It is also believed that Rajesh himself may have taken the lives of three members of his own family and later hanged himself.

On the basis of the suicide note received by the police, Devnathpur outpost in-charge Sanjay Kumar Yadav has registered a case against three people. After which the police have registered a case against three people under other sections including abetment of suicide. Police will go to Andhra Pradesh to take these three into custody.

It is clearly written in the suicide note that even after paying Rs 5 lakh, the entire family was being tortured for Rs 6 lakh instead of Rs 1 lakh. Pressure was being put again and again to pay the money and it was said that the government was not going to help them. Rajesh's signature was also forcefully taken on plain paper and he was also threatened to file a case by writing the outstanding balance of Rs 20 lakh on the blank cheque, police said.

Konda Babu, 50 years old, his wife Lavanya, 45, elder son Rajesh, 25, and younger son Jairaj, 23, died together in Kashi Kailash Math on Wednesday. They all committed suicide in the same room. Apart from pesticide bottles, petrol and a blade in his hand were also found on the spot. The post mortem of these four has not been done yet, because no family member has come.

An attempt was made by the Ashram Trust to contact Konda Babu's family members. When his sister Padma was contacted, she was surprised at the suicides. But, due to some problem of her own, she refused to come to Kashi. She appealed to the Varanasi officials to perform the last rites of brother and his entire family in Kashi.

The last rites of these four will be performed by Kailash Bhawan and Andhra Ashram Trust only. Ashram director Biwi Sundar Shastri says that on the request of the sister of Konda Babu, the last rites of these four will be conducted with full rituals by the Dharamshala Trust. Police probe revealed that Rajesh used to work in an agency selling second hand bikes in his own area. He had taken a loan of Rs 6 lakh from the agency without informing the agency owner and had also spent the money. The agency owner was continuously pressurizing Rajesh to return this Rs 6 lakh.

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