In an incident that has left the Mhaisal village in Sangli in the throes of shock, nine members of a family were found dead in two houses a short distance from each other on Monday afternoon. The police have recovered a suicide note, leading them to believe that this was a suicide pact, and are conducting further inquiries into the matter.
According to the Sangli police, the incident was reported to them at around 1.30 p.m. on Monday. The police said that Manik Vhanmore (49) and his brother Popat Vhanmore (52) used to stay in separate houses less than a kilometre from each other with their wives and children, while their mother lived with Manik and his family.
On Monday, when no member of the entire family was seen stepping out of either house all morning, concerned residents tried checking on them. When the repeated ringing of the doorbell and knocking on the door elicited no response, the neighbours called the police control room. The information was relayed to the Miraj Rural police station and teams were rushed to both houses.
The doors were broken open and the police entered the house to find all the nine members of the family lying on the floor and on beds lifeless. They were all rushed to the local hospital, where they were declared dead before admission.
"There are no external injuries on any of the bodies, and we are awaiting reports of the post-mortem examination, which will let us know both the time and the cause of death," the Inspector General of Police (Kolhapur range) Manoj Kumar Lohiya said.
Apart from Manik and Popat, the deceased has been identified as Manik's wife Rekha (54), daughter Anita (28) and son Aditya (15); Popat's wife Sangeeta (48), daughter Archana (30) and son Shubham (28); and Manik and Popat's mother Akkatai (72).
The police subsequently searched both houses and found a suicide note in Manik's residence, based on which inquiries are currently being made.
"There are certain claims in the note and some people have also been named. However, we need to verify the contents of the note before we can comment any further. Investigations are underway in this regard," Superintendent of Police (Sangli) Dikshit Gedam said.
The police are now getting in touch with family members and friends of the Vhanmores to cross-check the contents of the suicide note as well as to find out more about the people named in it.
