Patna (The Hawk): Police reported on Thursday that five family members committed suicide in Bihar's Nawada district by ingesting poison.
In a hospital, another team member is fighting for her life.
The six-person family ate poison late on Wednesday night after being humiliated by a moneylender.
Kedar Lal Gupta, his wife Anita Devi, their children Guria Kumari (20), Sabnam Kumari (19), and Prince Kumar are listed among the deceased (17). Sakshi Kumari, their daughter, is reportedly problematic.
Sakshi claimed that her father, a fruit vendor, had borrowed money from Manish Kumar but was unable to pay it back.
"Manish was putting pressure on my dad to pay back the money. He visited our home every day, sometimes with three to four other persons, and mistreated us. My father used to give them Rs 1,000 every day, but he couldn't pay them all back, Sakshi said in a statement to Nawada police.
"The whole family was down. He didn't have enough money to open the fruit cart. We can't eat a complete meal," Sakshi stated.
Finally, my father made the decision to end his life. We went to a Mazar close to Adarsh Society in Nawada Town and ingested the poison in accordance with the agreement, she added.
The poison was consumed, and they all passed out. They were observed by bystanders, who then reported them to the town police station. Five of the victims were pronounced dead when they were taken to Sadar hospital.
"A family's six members drank poison, and five of them perished. We are looking at every possibility. The victims owed a sizable amount of money. The Nawada SP, Gaurav Mangla, stated that Manish Kumar is being sought after.
According to RBI regulations, the lender cannot mistreat the borrower. However, banks and other private lenders give recovery agencies the cases of defaulters. They ridicule and mistreat people who apply for loans. In numerous instances around the nation, borrowers have resorted to drastic measures as a result of pressure from recovery agents.
The victims spent the previous 20 years renting a home in the New Area neighbourhood of Nawada.
(Inputs from Agencies)