Shocking suicide in Mumbai, 4 of family kill themselves over daughter’s alleged molestation

It’s a tragic tale with the most bizarre twists and turns. On February 21, a family of four in Mumbai ended their lives in what appears to be a suicide pact.

The deceased include a woman, her two children, and their stepfather. But beyond the tragedy of the loss of four lives, it’s the circumstances surrounding the case that are baffling.

According to a report in the Mid-Day, Bharti Pal, 25, and her brother Somnath Kartik Pal, 20, had been staying and working as domestics in the Oshiwara home of Tinku Singh, 35, for more than 10 years. Prior to them working here, their mother, Shikha Pal, 45, had been working for Singh.

Her body with that of her second husband, Ajitkumar Patel, 50, were found at their flat in Lokhandwala. Based on the evidence found, it was Tinku’s repeated sexual assaults on Bharti that drove the family to take this step.

It is alleged that he repeatedly beat Somnath as well. But the story does not end there. It’s the series of taped messages, videos, notes, and cash stash ‘for the police’ that have deepened the mystery. Here are 7 facts to know about the case.

1. The Mid-Day report states that there were four videos the family left, which explained they were committing suicide because of the assaults. The shaky videos show the family looking down at their hands as if they are reading from a piece of paper. The videos were found on a cellphone which had a note to ‘watch the videos’ on it.

2. The police are also speculating if the suicide pact had been planned over six months. This is based on the fact that the police found one suicide note allegedly written by Bharti and three suicide videos from the other deceased. They also found a video that Bharti recorded. All four suicide videos on another mobile phone kept near her mother’s body.

3. Police are also looking at the possibility that a fifth person was involved. The Mid-Day reports that a police official has said that their suspicions are based on the fact that all had separate notes prepared and that it was written by someone who was well-versed in English.

4. But, here’s where the story gets even more twisted. The Indian Express has reported that the police found that they had rehearsed the recordings multiple times till they got it right. Also, Bharti’s recording matched her suicide note word for word.

5. But the most inexplicable finding was a container with Rs 50,000 in cash with a note that said the money was for the police.

6. Meanwhile, the Indian Express reports that when the police examined the cellphone, they found images of Tinku Singh dressed as a woman wearing a sari, lipstick and a wig,

7. He has been booked under sections 306 (abetment to suicide), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.