Sambalpur: A family of five committed suicide by throwing themselves before a running train here Tuesday night. The tragic incident took place at about 9 pm at a desolate spot about 500 metres from Sambalpur Road station towards Sarla station.
The deceased were identified as Dharanidhar Panda (55), his wife Sangita (52), their three daughters Arpita (17), Ananya (14) and Siddhi (4). Sangita was a housewife and she wanted in vain to run a beauty parlour a few years ago. The family stayed in the old city area.
The eldest daughter, Arpita, was studying in Plus II and the middle one Ananya was a Class X student. Dharnidhar hailed from Burda village in Bargarh district and worked as a music teacher at Madnavati Public School in the city. A student of CSB Zilla School, Dharnidhar was a resident of Sambalpur since his school days.
He stayed with his family in a rented house at Jagannath Mandir colony. The suicide place was walkable distance from their house. The cause of the mass suicide is yet to be ascertained. His friends and neighbours said the family was passing through a financial crisis.
Officials from Sambalpur GRP station recovered the five bodies from the railway track and sent them for post mortem. Nobody came forward to claim the bodies when this report was filed. PNN
