In heartbreaking news, at least 11 members of a Hindu family who migrated from Pakistan to India in 2015 were found dead in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan on Sunday. The family, which had arrived in India from Pakistan in 2015, was living in Dechu police station area of Lodta village of Jodhpur.
It has been learnt that a five-year-old girl and two boys, aged 11 and 10 have also lost their lives. Police found traces of rat poison and a suicide note in the house, causing them to suspect that the 11 had killed themselves. But murder cannot be ruled out, the police said. However, police have launched an investigation into the matter.
“All angles are being investigated,” said Jodhpur (rural) superintendent of police Rahul Barhat.
Police also recovered a suicide note from the spot suggesting that Boduram’s 38-year-old daughter Lakshmi who had trained as a nurse could have injected everyone with poison killing the 11 family members on Saturday night. Strips of Alprazolam were also found at the scene.
Investigators suspect that dinner may have been laced with sleeping pills after which everyone was injected with poison. All of the family members- three women, two men, and five children, had syringe marks on their hands except Lakshmi who had them on her feet, further strengthening the police’s suspicion.
“The survivor told us that when he went into the house on Sunday morning, other members of the family didn’t wake up. He said he called some people and it was found that the 11 people were dead. Kewalram went to the police station to inform about the incident,” the SP said.
“All the deceased are Pakistani immigrants and were living in Jodhpur since 2015 on long-term visa. Migrants of any other country can only apply for citizenship after completing seven years in India. The family had taken a farm on lease from a local and used to do farming on that for their survival. They had many relatives in Jodhpur also,” said Barhat.
The police rushed to the spot after villagers informed them about the shocking incident. The police found the twelfth member of the family “Keval Ram” alive. Keval Ram was rushed to a government hospital where he is currently being treated. Police recorded Keval’s statement in which he said that the family had dinner together on Saturday night. He then went to scare off cattle on the farm and slept off. Upon his return to the hutment the next morning, Keval Ram realized that his entire family had died.
The post-mortems of all 11 deceased are being conducted at the postmortem medical board in Jodhpur.
