Sangli: In a chilling incident, at least nine members of two brothers’ families allegedly consumed poison and ended their lives in Mhaisal village near Miraj, police said here on Monday.
The deceased included a veterinarian and his brother, a school teacher, their mother, their respective spouses and children, as nine bodies were recovered from their neighbouring homes.
The motive behind the drastic step and the kind of toxic substance they consumed are not known immediately, and more details are awaited.
The deceased have been identified as Akkatai Yelappa Vanmore, her son veterinarian Manik Y. Vanmore, his wife Rekha, their daughter Pratima and son Aditya, plus members of the other son’s family of schoolteacher Popat Y. Vanmore, his wife Rekha and their daughter Sangeeta and son Shubham, according to officials.
The news of the alleged mass suicide spread like wildfire with scores of shocked people rushing to the homes in Ambika Nagar area of the village.
Top police officers, including Sangli Superintendent of Police Dikshitkumar Gedam, Mhaisal police inspector Chandrakant Bendre and others rushed to the spot to investigate the matter.
The bodies have been sent for autopsy and other procedures, the police said.
This is considered the second biggest macabre incident of its kind in Maharashtra after the Kasarvadavli case in Mira Road, Thane, in which an accountant, Hasnain Anwar Warekar, sedated and killed 14 of his family members before killing himself.
Seriously injured Sabia Y. Bharmal (22) was the sole survivor of the domestic carnage of 2016, which remained in the spotlight for months.
(IANS)
