Panchkula family suicide: Victims' neighbours shocked, recall them as a decent family

Hindustan Times

27-05-2025

The 42-year-old man, who, along with six members of his family, died by suicide in a car parked outside a house in Sector 27, Panchkula, on Monday night, told a local resident in his final moments that he was under heavy debt and had no one to turn to for help.
Harshit Rana, the local who was among the first to spot the vehicle parked suspiciously outside his residence around 10 pm on Monday, said he approached the car out of curiosity. 'I saw too many people lying inside and enquired from the man at the driver's seat, who appeared semi-conscious. Initially, he said they had come to attend Dhirendra Shastri's 'katha' in Sector 5 and couldn't find a hotel and thus were sleeping in the car. But when we looked closer, we sensed something was seriously wrong,' said Rana.
'When we peeked in, it was horrifying. All occupants had vomited, and the man in the driver's seat was barely conscious. He was shaking,' he recalled.
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'When we questioned him further, he told us that the family was under immense financial pressure and had collectively taken the extreme step,' said Rana. The victim's exact words, as per Rana, were: 'We're under heavy debt… I want to die, no one helped us.'
The resident said that after this, he, along with other neighbours, managed to get the 42-year-old man out of the car. The man identified the other occupants of the car as his wife, father, mother, son, and two daughters. The victim is then said to have confessed that they had consumed a poisonous substance.
Following this, the locals called the police through Dial 112, and the man was rushed to a hospital in a police vehicle, where he succumbed later during treatment.
'Quiet, decent family', recall neighbours in Saketri
Manish Chaudhary, who had rented two rooms to the family in Saketri about a month ago, described them as 'a very decent family.'
'The kids used to play in the adjacent park every evening. Their mother was active and went on morning walks,' he recalled.
'On Monday morning, around 9 am, they informed me that they were leaving for three days with the children's grandparents. They further asked me to fill water in their absence,' said Manish.
He also mentioned that the 42-year-old, the head of the family, would step out of the house daily, giving the impression of going to work. 'I did not seek advance payment for rent as they seemed decent people,' he said.
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However, relatives have now revealed that the family had no steady source of income after incurring massive losses in a factory and a failed taxi business.
A relative, who last saw the family at a wedding function on April 30 in Delhi, said, 'My uncle had shared a willingness to work and shared that he has now shifted to Panchkula. They had no source of income for the last few months and appeared financially distressed.'
Police recovered three mobile phones from the car — two were locked, while one was found unlocked. Using the unlocked phone, investigators accessed contact details and made calls to the family's relatives to inform them about the incident.
Suicide note sent for forensics
DCP (crime) Amit Dahiya said that two suicide notes recovered from the car have been sent for forensic analysis to verify the handwriting. Five dedicated teams have been formed to investigate the case from all possible angles, including financial and psychological aspects. Police are also verifying the family's social media accounts to trace any digital footprints or indications of distress prior to the incident. The forensic team recovered traces of vomit and food items from inside the vehicle. These samples are being examined to confirm the substances consumed and whether any poisonous material was mixed with the food. The bodies were handed over to the relatives on Tuesday evening and cremation took place later in day.