M A I N   N E W S

Pehowa debt trap: 7 more bodies found
The family seems to have driven their car into Bhakra canal
Vishal Joshi
Tribune News Service

Raogarh (Kurukshetra), March 31
In a heartrending incident, seven bodies, including three children and one pregnant woman, of a debt-ridden trader’s family from Pehowa were recovered from the Bhakra Canal on the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road this evening.

The family, comprising nine members, seemed to have driven their car into the canal to commit suicide.

The spot, which was identified by relatives, is nearly 100 m away from the main road. The deceased have been identified as Mam Chand Singla, Nirmla, Bublee, Seema, Ishika, Nancy and Nikita.

The bodies of Amit and Pradeep were recovered from the same canal at Kachwa village in Karnal. The family had been missing since March 16 and the agitated relatives blamed the district authorities for not taking the incident and the suicide note seriously.

On the arrival of agriculture minister H.S. Chatha, who is the MLA from Pehowa, the relatives raised slogans against him for his alleged indifference in the case.

Relatives said the family had specifically named the Bhakra Canal, about 20 km from Pehowa, in the suicide note as the spot where they intended to end their lives.

In the past three days, as many as 18 bodies have been recovered from the Bhakra Canal in Karnal and Kurukshetra districts.

Singla, the well-off arhtiya from Pehowa, had a rice sheller. He had reportedly borrowed money from various banks and other arhtiyas.

Relatives of the family said Singla had also lent money to 21 local persons, who had allegedly refused to pay him back. As his payments were stuck, he felt humiliated for not settling his loan amounts and he chose to commit suicide along with his family.

Source said since January, Singla continuously withdrew money to the tune of nearly Rs 1 crore from various banks in Pehowa and had taken huge loans from arhtiyas.

He had mortgaged his house and recently sold gold worth Rs 5 lakh through a local trader.

“It seems that Singla, who was held in high esteem among local traders, was clearing his debts by selling jewellery. Since, he owed crores of rupees, poor resources left him with no option but to take the extreme step,” said an official.

Family sources said they got suspicious after Singla’s workers said he had not been coming to the mandi for the last couple of days. Getting suspicious, they reached at his residence and found a mass suicide note and informed the police.

Meanwhile, Karnal SSP A.S. Chawla said despite the identification by the family, DNA tests would be conducted. “We have specifically asked the Kurukshetra police to take the DNA samples of the seven bodies recovered today to match them with the other two members found in Karnal,” he added.