Seven members of a family from Uttarakhand, three of them children, were found dead inside a car in Panchkula. According to Panchkula Police, a businessman, his wife, their three children and his parents were found in a semi-conscious state inside a car parked near a vacant plot in Panchkula late Monday and later declared dead, with preliminary evidence suggesting that they allegedly died by suicide due to “financial debt and psychological issues”.
The car with a Dehradun registration number was found parked on the roadside in a residential area at Sector 27 in Panchkula. The cause of the deaths appears to be poisoning. The deceased have been identified as 42-year-old Praveen Mittal, his father Deshraj Mittal, mother Vimla, wife Reena, twin teenage daughters and son, police added.
Panchkula police further said that they received a call around midnight reporting a suspiciously parked car with several people inside. Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) reached the location and discovered the seven individuals, most in a semi-conscious state. According to police, when the team arrived at the scene, one individual was found breathing, while the others were unconscious. The conscious person stated he had also consumed poison and would die within five minutes. All were rushed to a nearby hospital. Himadree Kaushik, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Panchkula, Vikram Nehra, Assistant Commissioner of Police and other senior officers reached the spot and later went to the hospital. A forensic team examined the car and collected evidence. Preliminary findings indicate that Parveen claimed sole responsibility for the act, citing severe financial distress. A handwritten note recovered from the vehicle contained a two-page message from Praveen.
“I have gone bankrupt. I am responsible for all this. My father-in-law should not be harassed. The last rites of my family should be done by my cousin brother,” he wrote. Talking to reporters, Panchkula DCP Kaushik said, “Prima facie, it appears to be a matter of suicide. However, further investigations are on.” She further said that six occupants of the car were taken to a private hospital, while one was taken to the civil hospital. “All seven died,” the officer added. DCP (Crime), Panchkula, Amit Dahiya said, “We are investigating the case from all angles. We are questioning people in the area and going through CCTV footage.”
Police are also going through the social media accounts of the deceased and their bank transactions, he added.
The Panchkula police also recorded a statement of a Sector 27 resident, Harsh, who first spotted the members of the Mittal family sitting inside the car late Monday. Harsh told the police that he was taking a stroll outside his house when he saw the Hyundai car in which several people were sitting. The car’s rear windshield was covered with a towel, he said.
“One person was alive among all the occupants of the vehicle. I managed to pull him out of the car. I saw there were vomits everywhere inside the car. The man whom I pulled out identified himself as Praveen Mittal. He told me that he and his family members had gone to attend the religious discourse of Dhirendra Shastri,” said Harsh.
“I got slightly suspicious about his version because he was semi-conscious. He was trembling. I tried to make him drink a sip of water. He told me that he had consumed poison, and all his family members who were in the car had also consumed poison. I immediately dialled the Police Control Room on Dial-112, after which police reached the spot and first took Praveen Mittal to the hospital, followed by all the other occupants of the car,” he added.
Praveen’s father-in-law, Rakesh Gupta, told the police that he had not been in touch with Praveen for almost 10 years. Gupta said he learnt that Praveen had taken a loan, which he failed to pay back to the bank. He also told the police that Praveen and his family members were living in a rented accommodation in the Mansa Devi Complex for the last few months, and that he also helped his daughter Reena financially.
Praveen’s cousin, Sandeep Aggarwal, told the police that Praveen had first shifted to Panchkula about 12 years ago. He used to run a scrap-material processing factory. For the last about five years, he was not in much contact with his relatives, and had shifted to Dehradun, where he started a tours and travel agency in which he suffered financial losses. “I had spoken with Praveen last week. He told me that he was in deep debt and disclosed that he was running a taxi business,” Sandeep told the police.