The Sangli Police arrested 13 persons, including several moneylenders, a day after nine members of a family were found dead in the district on Monday.
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The police initially booked 25 people for harassing the deceased and for abetting suicide. Of these, 13 persons were arrested.
The bodies of the deceased were found at two different locations in Mhaisal village in Sangli Miraj Taluk on Monday. The bodies were of two brothers — one a veterinary doctor and the other a teacher — along with their mother, their wives and their children.
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According to authorities, the family, which was experiencing a period of financial distress, was reportedly being harassed by moneylenders. The police also recovered suicide notes from the home that revealed the names of these lenders and other persons.
Based on these names, the police immediately registered a case against 25 persons, while taking 13 of them into custody.
The police, which suspect it to be a case of “collective suicide”, had said that the deceased had consumed a poisonous substance. Further investigations are on.
The bodies were retrieved in the afternoon and immediately sent for a post-mortem at the government hospital in Miraj.
Those who require assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline 011-4076 9002 (10 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., Monday-Saturday). Those in distress could also seek help and counselling by calling helplines from this link.