File photo of Bengaluru police personnel. (Representative image)
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Burdened by mounting financial troubles, a couple allegedly killed their two children before attempting to end their own lives in a suspected suicide-murder pact.
Only the wife survived and has been booked for murder.
The tragic incident was reported from Hoskote taluk's Gonakanahalli, about 35 km east of Bengaluru city centre.
Shivakumar, 32, his daughter Chandrakala, 11, and son Uday Surya, 7, were found dead at their house late on Saturday evening. His wife, Manjula, 30, survived and has been taken into custody for murder.
Police said Shivakumar once did menial jobs. However, he severely injured both of his legs following an accident four years ago and became immobile. His family struggled to make ends meet.
The family borrowed heavily for his treatment but there was little improvement. Manjula's meagre earnings as a domestic worker were insufficient to cover medical costs or the mounting debt.
The couple then decided to kill themselves as well as the children, as they didn't want them to become orphans.
On Saturday afternoon, the children were reportedly strangled in their sleep and later submerged in a bucket of water, a police officer close to the investigation told DH.
Before attempting suicide, Shivakumar asked Manjula to get him snacks, as it would be their last meal. When she returned, she found he had hanged himself, the officer added.
Manjula then called up a relative, narrated the incident and gave instructions regarding the last rites before trying to take her own life. However, the relative rushed to the house and alerted the police, helping rescue Manjula just in time.
Police have shifted the three bodies for post-mortem and are carrying out further investigations.