Duped, 5 end life in Patna

The reason behind the ‘group suicide’ is said to be fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 20,000 (out of Rs 30,000) by an impersonator which Rambachan Rajbanshi, a tribal, was to get under the Indira Awas Yojna (IAY).

After he came to know how he has been cheated, a crestfallen Rambachan, alongwith his wife Chinta Devi (28), son Abhishek (1) and two daughters Rani (5) and Maharani (3) reportedly committed suicide at Hasanbigha village, some 200 kilometres from here, by setting themselves on fire in the wee hours of Monday.

Two other children, who were sleeping with their grandmother in the adjacent room, however survived.

The DM and the SP of Aurangabad rushed to the incident site where locals told them that the family members took the extreme step after falling victim to machinations of some middlemen.

Sources said some middlemen had fraudulently withdrawn the second instalment of Rs 20,000 that belonged to Rambachan. But when he met the branch manger of the local Gramin Bank, he was told that allocated sum in his name had been withdrawn in full. Rambachan had actually withdrawn only the first instalment of Rs 10,000.

The middlemen not only refused to return his money, but also warned the poor man that since he had not constructed his house, he would have to return the entire money (Rs 30,000) to the bank, or else he could be jailed.

Dejected and heart-broken, Rambachan returned to his home, locked the room from inside, tied his kin with a wire rope, poured kerosene and set all afire. The police however, refused to buy the suicide theory.

“The matter does not look like a suicide case. But things will be clear once the post-mortem report comes in,” said the SP, SM Jain.