MARGAO: In a case that sent shockwaves through Goa, three members of a family - a man, wife and their minor son, lost their lives in a ghastly sage of murder and suicide.
According to the police, the deceased 50-year-old Shyam Patil, a businessman, pushed his 12-year-old son Dhaksh, a special child from the Kali bridge, at Kodibaga, Karwar, then his wife Jyoti, 37, took her life by also jumping from the bridge. The bodies of Dhaksh and Jyoti were found floating at Devbagh Beach. The Chittakula Police in Karnataka are conducting an investigation into the matter.
Meanwhile, the body of the husband, Shyam was recovered from a forest area in Padi, Quepem by the Cuncolim Police.
The police received information from one Rajesh Shetty that a person had committed suicide by hanging in a forest area in Padi. PSI Kavita Rawat and a police team visited the site, where they found Shyam’s body hanging from a tree.
During the inquiry, Cuncolim Police spoke to the deceased’s nephew, Viraj Naik, who identified the body as that of his uncle, Shyam, residing at Marvel, Dabolim and a native of Gokshita, Karwar. He had left his residence on June 28, at around 8.30 pm with his wife and son, in a vehicle, for Karwar.
According to his nephew, Patil later sent a voice message to his close friend Rajkumar Goni and brother-in-law Sachin Naik, revealing that his wife and minor son had committed suicide in Karwar and that he, too, was ending his life due to financial crisis. Unfortunately, Goni and Naik read the message next morning.
Police said that the deceased had a thriving business in Verna and owned a palatial house reported to be worth more than Rs one crore, which is hypothecated. However, he was lured into a get-rich-quick investment scheme by his associates, which ultimately failed. As a result, his loans piled up into crores of rupees, and his tax liabilities increased. It is believed that these financial burdens led him to push his son from the Kali Bridge, while his wife also jumped, as witnessed by some locals in the area. Subsequently, Shyam came to Padi-Quepem in a car and later after parking the vehicle by the side of the road; he entered the forest area and hanged himself.
The deceased’s body has been preserved at the South Goa District Hospital in Margao for post-mortem examination. Police said that Shyam was a labour contractor and was in this business for the last 15 years. With his office at Verna, he was supplying labour to industrial units.
During the course of investigation the Cuncolim Police found a list of those persons from whom Shyam had obtained loans and also found the car keys in his trousers. The Cuncolim Police have registered a case of unnatural death under Section 174 of the CrPC and PSI Kavita Rawat is conducting investigation under the guidance of Cuncolim PI Tukaram Chavan.