The Hindu : New Delhi News : Businessman kills kids, commits suicide

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 17, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Businessman kills kids, commits suicide

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 16. A 40-year-old businessman allegedly committed suicide after poisoning his teenaged son and daughter at his West Patel Nagar residence in West Delhi on Tuesday night. Though the police have not recovered any suicide note from the spot, they have registered a case of murder.

Pradeep Vadhera lived on the top floor of a building at West Patel Nagar along with his wife, Krishna (35), and two children, Pranav (10) and Prerna (16). He owned a printing unit and a plastic moulding factory at Sarai Rohilla.

The police said around 1-30 a.m. on Wednesday, Krishna woke up to relieve herself when she heard her children, who were sleeping in another room, groaning in pain. She entered the room and found froth oozing from their mouths. Krishna tried to wake up her husband but found him in a similar condition. Krishna then woke up her neighbour who called in her relatives and rushed Pradeep and the children to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

The police said Prerna, a Class X student of Bal Bharti School, was declared dead on arrival, and Pranav, a Class VI student in the same school, died after some time. Pradeep passed away an hour later. The doctors said the three probably died from poisoning. During questioning, Krishna told the police that she along with her husband and children went to sleep after dinner around 11 p.m. Till then nothing seemed amiss.

She further revealed that Pradeep had lost his hearing ability after undergoing an operation for brain tumour at Apollo Hospital about two years ago. Due to the hearing loss, he was unable to manage his business properly and incurred financial losses.

Also, he was unable to communicate with his wife, children and relatives, which apparently caused him a lot of distress.

Pradeep's sister told the police that about two months ago, he had hinted that he would end his life along with his children, as Krishna would not be able to take care of them properly without him.

On the basis of these findings, the police suspect that Pradeep may have committed suicide after making his children consume poison. They are also investigating his relationship with his wife.

Yet to recover from the shock, Pradeep's neighbours said he was a well-behaved and amiable person and had very supportive relatives. Deepak Khetan, who lives on the ground floor of the same building, said when he woke up on hearing the commotion and saw Pradeep being taken away to hospital, he thought Pradeep had suffered a brain tumour attack.

"But when he and his children were taken to hospital, doctors said all three had apparently consumed poison," said Mr. Khetan, adding that the neighbours were yet to come to terms with the tragedy. Recalling Pranav, he said: "About four years ago, he had fallen from the balcony and landed on a stationary car but miraculously escaped with minor injuries. We thought that God had saved his life as he was destined for something big in life. He was very good at basketball and had recently been selected to represent his school in a tournament," Mr. Khetan said.

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