Karnataka: Man kills wife and son, dies by suicide; death note cites Shakti free travel scheme as reason
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Mandya (Karnataka), June 9 : A cloth businessman allegedly killed his wife and son before dying by suicide in Karnataka's Mandya district, with a death note reportedly blaming the state government's Shakti free travel scheme for women, along with mounting debts and business losses. The incident came to light on Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as 65-year-old Prabhakar, his wife 55-year-old Jyothi, and their son 30-year-old Santhosh.
Police said that Prabhakar allegedly first killed his wife Jyothi by suffocating her with his dhoti and later attacked his son Santhosh, who had got married about a month-and-a-half ago.
Santhosh reportedly tried to intervene but was also killed.
Prabhakar is suspected to have later died by suicide at his shop.
Meghana, wife of deceased Santhosh, told police that she and her husband had gone to sleep together on Monday and she was unaware of the incident.
Police said that she was not harmed.
Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP), Shobha Rani V.J., said that police received information about the incident at around 6 a.m. on Tuesday and rushed to the spot.
"We were informed that Prabhakar had killed his wife and son and later died by suicide at his shop. We inspected the site and recovered a death note," she added.
She said that the death note mentioned severe financial stress, including home loan EMIs and business losses.
"It refers to loans taken from L&T Finance and repayment pressure. It also mentions a decline in cloth business," she added.
When asked about the death note's reference to the Shakti free travel scheme, SP Shobha Rani V.J. said, "He (Prabhakar) has also written that due to bus facilities, his business had undergone a decline."
Police sources said the death note specifically cited the Shakti free travel scheme for women, claiming it had impacted Prabhakar's textile business as customers increasingly travelled to Mysuru and Bengaluru for purchases, reducing local sales.
The note also expressed concern over mounting debt and pressure from finance companies.
Investigators said that Prabhakar had reportedly borrowed around Rs 7 lakh from finance companies in addition to informal loans.
The family had earlier scaled down their textile business from a large shop to a smaller outlet, mainly dealing in women's clothing.
The Mandya East Police are investigating the case.
The deceased have been identified as 65-year-old Prabhakar, his wife 55-year-old Jyothi, and their son 30-year-old Santhosh.
Police said that Prabhakar allegedly first killed his wife Jyothi by suffocating her with his dhoti and later attacked his son Santhosh, who had got married about a month-and-a-half ago.
Santhosh reportedly tried to intervene but was also killed.
Prabhakar is suspected to have later died by suicide at his shop.
Meghana, wife of deceased Santhosh, told police that she and her husband had gone to sleep together on Monday and she was unaware of the incident.
Police said that she was not harmed.
Mandya Superintendent of Police (SP), Shobha Rani V.J., said that police received information about the incident at around 6 a.m. on Tuesday and rushed to the spot.
"We were informed that Prabhakar had killed his wife and son and later died by suicide at his shop. We inspected the site and recovered a death note," she added.
She said that the death note mentioned severe financial stress, including home loan EMIs and business losses.
"It refers to loans taken from L&T Finance and repayment pressure. It also mentions a decline in cloth business," she added.
When asked about the death note's reference to the Shakti free travel scheme, SP Shobha Rani V.J. said, "He (Prabhakar) has also written that due to bus facilities, his business had undergone a decline."
Police sources said the death note specifically cited the Shakti free travel scheme for women, claiming it had impacted Prabhakar's textile business as customers increasingly travelled to Mysuru and Bengaluru for purchases, reducing local sales.
The note also expressed concern over mounting debt and pressure from finance companies.
Investigators said that Prabhakar had reportedly borrowed around Rs 7 lakh from finance companies in addition to informal loans.
The family had earlier scaled down their textile business from a large shop to a smaller outlet, mainly dealing in women's clothing.
The Mandya East Police are investigating the case.
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