Man found hanging in Goa, bodies of wife, son recovered in Karnataka; cops suspect mass suicide

Panaji, July 1

The body of a 50-year-old man was found in a forest patch of Goa a couple of days ago while that of his wife and minor son were recovered off Devbag beach in neighbouring Karnataka, with police suspecting it may be a case of mass suicide.

An official said Shyam Patil was a labour contractor and was reportedly reeling under debts he had taken from institutions as well as individuals.

“Patil’s body was found hanging from a tree in a forest in Quepem taluka in south Goa on Thursday. The corpses of his wife Jyoti (37) and 12-year-old son were spotted off Devbag beach in Karwar in Karnataka the same day,” he said.

“Prima facie, it seems like a case of mass suicide. The family lived at Chicalim village, some 15 kilometres away from Panaji. As per neighbours, they had left for Karwar on Wednesday at 8.30 pm,” he added.

Patil had sent a voice message to his friends and a relative claiming his wife and son had died by suicide and he too was ending his life, the police official said.

“A note has been recovered from Patil’s car in which he said he was ending his life due to a financial crisis. Further probe into the case is under way,” the official added.