Kurnool : Five of a family including three minors commit suicide

Hit by financial problems, eight members of a family jumped into a reservoir in a suicide bid in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, resulting in death of five, including three minors, police said today. S Ramaiah, a trader, jumped into the Owk reservoir in the district last evening along with his seven family members, including grand children, they said. "Ramaiah, his younger son and his wife survived in the suicide bid, but his elder son Venkateshwarlu, his wife, besides three children (two boys and one girl), all aged below five years, drowned," Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dhone Sub-Division) Vinod Kumar told PTI over phone. After getting the information about the alleged suicide bid last evening, a police team managed to rescue Ramaiah, his younger son and his wife, while during a search operation for others that lasted till this afternoon, the police retrieved the bodies of five others, the DSP said. Preliminary investigations revealed that Ramaiah was supposed to pay an amount of Rs 50 lakh to farmers from whom he had bought bengal gram. "The prices of bengal gram fell in the market and he was finding it difficult to pay the amount to the farmers, who reportedly pressurised him over their due amounts," the senior police officer said, adding further probe was on.