Vexed over the “abusive behaviour” of his “alcoholic” father towards the family members, a 30-year-old man allegedly killed five members of his family — his father, mother, wife and two daughters — by throwing them into an irrigation canal before ending his life by jumping into the canal at Palair, in Kusumanchi mandal, around midnight on Tuesday.
The incident came to light on Wednesday when fishermen spotted six bodies floating in the canal.
The deceased were identified as Sheik Pentu Saheb, 55, a mason and also a member of a traditional brass band troupe, his wife Mehbooba, 48, son Saleem, 30, a worker in a pesticide company, daughter-in-law Razia, 28, granddaughters Shahnaz, 7, and Nasima, 5, of Jellacheruvu.
Saleem allegedly resorted to the ghastly act unable to put up with the “constant pestering” of his mother and wife by Pentu Saheb under the influence of alcohol. The police recovered a suicide note purportedly written by Saleem.
In the suicide note addressed to his younger brother Lal Saheb, an auto-rickshaw driver, Saleem said he was taking the extreme step unable to bear the torment at the hands of their father whom he referred to as “Baba”.
Saleem had taken all his family members to the canal site late on Tuesday night on the pretext of performing some rituals to mend the “rude behaviour” of his father.
He had sent his brother Lal Saheb to their house to bring some material required for the special ritual. As per a well-hatched plan, he first threw his father into the canal and then mother and wife, and lastly his two daughters after tying their legs with some cloth. Saleem allegedly committed suicide by jumping into the brimming canal, sources added.
A visibly-shaken Lal Saheb recalled the moments that preceded the ghastly incident. “I had returned home on being asked by my brother Saleem to bring some material meant for a special ritual. He told us that the special ritual was imperative to nullify the impact of witchcraft done by some persons on our father,” he said.
The suicide note purportedly written by Saleem is being sent to forensic lab to check its authenticity, said Khammam Police Commissioner Tafseer Iqbal.
