Tamil Nadu: Chit fund family attempts mass suicide, six of 8 members dead

Madurai: In an apparent suicide pact, eight members of a family consumed position at a home in Sourashtra Puram in Madurai and six of them died of the terrible self-inflicted pain on Sunday.

The tragedy shook the local community as people have invested money in a chit fund business run by the family members, who also own a nursery school in the locality. According to locals, the eight members of the family including a disabled girl went on a picnic to Courtalam falls on Saturday and returned home this morning.

Around 7 pm, when the milk vendor knocked on the door, nobody from the house responded her call. She immediately alerted their relatives. When they broke open the door, five of the family members were found dead inside the house, one other person died in hospital, where two others of the family are battling for their lives.

The police identified the deceased as Jegajothi (60) and their sons — Velmurugan (48) and Kurinji Kumaran (45), her daughter-in-law Devi Bala (40) and the grandchild Jeyasakthi (13), who is disabled, and Jaya Dharani.

While Jaya Dharani (19), II -year engineering college student died at home, Monika (15), class 11 student, and Thanga Selvi wife of Kurunji Kumaran, were admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai and are undergoing treatment. As most of the locals have invested several lakh rupees in the chit fund run by the family and in an investment scheme, they were worried about their investments.

Police said that the family had invested huge amount in the real estate business and sustained huge losses recently, which might have driven them to take this extreme step.Madurai collector Veera Raghava Rao visited the hospital and disclosed that the distressed family had left behind a suicide note. Further investigations are on.