Four members of a family allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison at Padubelle village coming under Shirva police station limits in Udupi district on Thursday.
The police have identified the deceased as Shankar Acharya (50), his wife Nirmala Acharya (45), their daughters, Shruthi Acharya (24), a MBA graduate, and Shreya Acharya (21), a MCA student. Shankar Acharya owned a jewellery shop in Padubelle.
K.T. Balakrishna, Superintendent of Police, told The Hindu that the bodies had been shifted for post-mortem to Kasturba Hospital. The exact reason for the suicide is not yet known.
“It appears that they mixed poison in their food because there was rice and ‘saaru’ on the plates in the house. Shruthi’s wedding was fixed for September 5. They had plans of booking a wedding hall on Thursday,” Mr. Balakrishna said.
“The suicide must have taken place between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. But the timing has to be ascertained. So far we have not found any death note. We will have to search the house again,” he said.
A complaint had been registered at the Shirva police station and investigations are on.