A 35-year-old man attempted to kill his five children, of whom three died, and then died by suicide at their home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Sunday night.
Amarnath Ram tried to hang his five children to death - Anuradha Kumari (12), Shivani Kumari (11), Radhika Kumari (7), Shivam Kumar (6), and Chandan Kumar (5). While all three daughters died, the two sons survived.
Officials said Amarnath asked his five children to stand on a trunk while putting ropes around their necks. He also did the same for himself. Ram, along with three daughters, allegedly jumped while his two sons refused.
One of the sons, Shivam, who witnessed the tragic incident, said he had managed to untie the rope around his neck. "I was at home with my father and my siblings. I was using my phone when my father went to the bathroom. When he returned, he hung us one by one. I managed to unite the rope and survive," he told NDTV.
The two surviving sons are undergoing medical treatment.
According to officials, Amarnath's wife died last year. Since then, he had been mentally disturbed. Villagers told the police that he was also struggling financially and personally. They also said the man was troubled by the responsibility of raising five children.
The reason behind the incident is not yet known.
Police have sent the bodies for post-mortem, and they are probing the case from all possible angles. The investigators are expecting that the two surviving sons' statements will shed more light on the reasons for the incident.
A case has been filed at the Sakra police station.
The district police have also called for the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team to collect the evidence from the scene.
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