Vasant Kunj deaths: Investigation points to financial distress, only Rs 208 left in bank account

The deaths of a man and his four daughters in Delhi's Vasant Kunj could be due to financial distress as he had only Rs 208 in his bank account and had not made any transaction since April, police sources said on Tuesday.

The decomposed bodies of Heera Lal Sharma, who worked as a carpenter at the Indian Spinal Injury Centre in Vasant Kunj for the last 28 years, and his four daughters -- Neetu (26), Nikki (24), Neeru (23) and Nidhi (20) -- were recovered from their residence at Rangpuri village on Friday.

Police have suspected it be a case of suicide pact but have not ruled out the possibility of Sharma poisoning his daughters before dying by suicide, sources said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Rohit Meena said the post-mortem examination on all five bodies was conducted on Tuesday and the bodies had been handed over to the family members.

The initial cause of death is suspected to be poisoning, but police are awaiting the viscera report to verify it, Meena said.

Delhi Police sources on Tuesday said they had accessed the details of Sharma's salary account, which had only Rs 208 in it.

Police suspect the family was going through a financial crisis for the past few months as there had been no transactions since April.

Sharma had stopped going to his office since January and had become a recluse after the death of his wife, police sources said. The HR department of his office had twice sent him reminders, asking him to return to work, they said.

However, his bank details do not give the police any conclusive cause of the incident, a police officer said.

Police have also sought the call data records of three mobile phones, sources said.

On Monday, police said the probe team had found a red thread tied on the waists, hands and necks of the four women. A box of sweets was also recovered from the spot, according to police.

A Delhi Police officer said the room where the bodies were found on September 27 is yet to be thoroughly searched.

"Due to smell in the rooms, the house was not properly searched. It will be searched again in the coming days," the officer added.