Man accused of nephew’s murder and three of his family found dead in Bihar

Four members of a family hailing from Gubbi taluk in Tumakuru district were found dead in an apparent mass suicide at a dharmashala attached to a religious place in Rajgir town of Nalanda district, Bihar, on Friday.

Nephew’s murder

One of the four, G.R. Nagaprasad, had allegedly murdered his minor nephew over a row over mobile gaming addiction of the boy, reported at Soladevanahalli in Bengaluru in August last year. It is suspected that mental agony and guilt had driven the family to take the extreme step.

The deceased have been identified as G.R. Sumangala, 78, her son Nagaprasad, a security guard at a private firm, and his two sisters G.R. Shilpa, 48, and G.R. Shurtha, 43. All four were found dead in a room of the dharmashala on Friday morning.

According to the police, the family had checked into the dharmashala a few days ago and had not opened the room door for nearly three days. On Friday morning, the dharmashala manager alerted the police after foul smell began emanating from the room. The police broke open the door and found all four bodies.

Documents found

The police found mobile phones, Aadhaar cards and other personal documents inside the room and contacted the Karnataka police.

On August last year, Nagaprasad had allegedly murdered Amogh Keerthi by slitting his throat and gone absconding for two days before surrendering to the Soladevanahalli police. He was out on bail. Keerthi was addicted to online gaming and gambling and repeatedly demanded money from the family. A week before the murder, he had allegedly assaulted his uncle after being denied money.

The family reportedly decided to travel to Bihar as part of a religious trip. They were planning to visit Rajgir and Nalanda, and had intended to proceed to Bodh Gaya later. However, under extreme mental stress, all four allegedly took the drastic step.

(Those having suicidal tendencies can call Arogya Sahayavani Ph.: 104 for help.)

EoM