A man harassed by loan sharks kills his wife and son and survives a suicide attempt: policemen

Pune:

Police said a 45-year-old man on Saturday allegedly killed his wife and minor son by giving them a large dose of sleeping pills and then tried to commit suicide due to “harassment” from loan sharks.

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

In his complaint, Vaibhav stated that he gave some sleeping pills to his wife Shubhangi Hande (36) and their 9-year-old son Dhanraj in the morning, which led to their death. Vaibhav then tried to hang himself from the ceiling fan in their apartment.

On Friday evening, Vaibhav sent a note to his 14-year-old son’s mobile phone, which he sent to a relative in Mumbai, detailing his plan.

The teenager panicked after reading the news in the morning and frantically called neighbors to check on his family. When the neighbors received no response despite knocking on the door repeatedly, they called the police, the official said.

The police entered the apartment and found Vaibhav alive. He was then shifted to a private hospital, the official said.

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

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

The official said the defendants face intimidation charges and an investigation is ongoing.