Purusottampur: Unable to bear the stress arising out of repeated visits by representatives of some finance companies demanding repayment of loans, an elderly couple, whose son is currently staying abroad with his family, died after consuming poison at Bedha Purnachandrapur village under this police station in Khallikote block of Ganjam district Wednesday. The deceased were identified as Ladu Kishore Maharana, 61, and his wife Sajani Maharana, 57, of the village. According to police, a glass with traces of suspected poison was recovered from the couple’s residence. The matter came to the fore when a finance company employee visited their home Wednesday noon and found the couple lying unresponsive. He alerted the locals, who then informed the police. The cops seized the bodies and sent them to Purusottampur CHC for post-mortem.
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Preliminary investigations suggest that the couple had borrowed approximately Rs 3 lakh from private finance companies and a few individuals to invest in farming. Police registered two separate cases of unnatural deaths (7/25 & 8/25) and launched an investigation. The incident spread shockwaves in the area even as a pall of gloom descended on the village. Sources said that the couple’s only son Santosh is staying abroad with his family, while their three daughters are married. The couple was living alone in the village and survived by cultivating crops. However, the unseasonal rains damaged their standing paddy crops, pushing them into further financial distress. In addition, Ladu Kishore had reportedly been unwell for some time and was unable to work. Meanwhile, repeated visits from finance company agents demanding for payback added to the couple’s mental burden.
