Family of four found dead in suspected suicide pact

HYDERABAD: Four members of a family, including a four-year-old girl, were found dead in their rented apartment on Monday afternoon in what the police believe to be a suicide pact.

The deceased were identified as Pratap (34), a design engineer for an
automobile manufacturer in Chennai, his wife Sindoora (32), a manager at a
public sector bank, their daughter Aadya (4), and Pratap's mother Rajati. Pratap is suspected to have murdered his mother, wife, and daughter before hanging himself.

Eight years ago, Pratap and Sindoora, cousins, got married. Pratap and
Sindoora were both initially working in Chennai. Six months ago, she was
transferred to the Himayat Nagar branch as manager in the loans recovery
department. After her transfer to Hyderabad, Sindoora had moved to the city
along with her daughter. Both initially resided at Sindoora's parents Jamuna
and Rajendra Prasad's Tarnaka home, with Pratap making weekend trips to see
them. Aadya attends a play school close to her house.

Sindoora and her daughter moved into another rented apartment close to her
parents' home about two months ago. “Every evening after leaving the office,
she would visit us with the child to spend some time,” Jamuna told Deccan
Chronicle.

The couple had been arguing for the last three months about Sindoora
relocating to Chennai. While she insisted that they stay in Hyderabad and
continue working here, Pratap suggested that she return to Chennai. “There
were no major issues between them, barring this particular concern,” said
Sindoora’s parents.

When Sindoora failed to show up for work on Monday, her coworkers called
her; however, when she didn't answer, a few of them went home in search of
her, according to the police report. They inquired with the apartment’s
watchman and later went to her parents’ house.

All of them returned to the apartment later, and when they busted through
the door, they found Pratap hanging in the hall, while Sindoora, Aadya, and
Rajathi were found dead in one room, respectively, and called the police.

According to Sindoora's parents, the couple and the child joined them on
Sunday to celebrate Pongal and left just after Sunday supper. “Every time
Pratap is in town, he visits us after lunch, stays a while, and then leaves.
We were waiting for her to call or for them to come home,” said Jamuna as
she broke down in tears at the OU police station.

Prima facie, a suspicious death case has been registered, according to
Ramesh Naik, inspector of OU PS. "At the scene, neither a suicide note nor
anything that would suggest poisoning have been found. The cause of death
wouldn't be known after postmortem examination,” he said.