Man ‘kills’ wife and son, survives suicide bid; blames moneylenders for harassment

Pune: A 45-year-old man on Saturday allegedly killed his wife and minor son by administering them a heavy dose of sleeping pills before attempting suicide due to “harassment” by moneylenders, police said here.

The man, Vaibhav Hande from Chikhali near Pune city, is being treated in a hospital and police have booked four persons, identified as Santosh Kadam, Surekha Kadam, Santosh Pawar and Javed Khan, in connection with the deaths, the official said.

In his complaint, Vaibhav said he gave several sleeping pills to his wife Shubhangi Hande, 36, and their 9-year-old son Dhanraj in the morning, resulting in their death. Vaibhav then tried to hang himself from a ceiling fan in their flat.

On Friday night, Vaibhav had sent a note on the mobile phone of his 14-year-old son, whom he had sent to his relative’s place in Mumbai, detailing his plan.

The teenager panicked after reading the message in the morning and made frantic calls to their neighbours to check on his family. When the neighbours did not get any response despite repeated knocks on the door, they called the police, the official said.

Police entered the flat and found Vaibhav alive. He was then rushed to a private hospital, the official said.

“The complainant had borrowed Rs 6 lakh and Rs 2 lakh at a monthly interest rate of 10 per cent from accused Santosh Kadam and Surekha, respectively. He had also taken Rs 4 lakh from Javed Khan at high interest,” the official said, quoting Vaibhav's complaint.

The complainant told the police that he had repaid the principal and an additional Rs 9 lakh to the moneylenders but they were harassing him to pay more, the official said.

The accused have been booked for criminal intimidation and a probe is underway, the official said.