Rajkot: Facing financial crisis, man and son end lives

RAJKOT: Facing uncertain future due to their deteriorating financial situation and calls for payback from money lenders, a father-son duo allegedly ended life in the city sometime before Saturday morning.
The 65-year-old Pratap Bhimani and his 34-year-old son Vijay were found dead in the balcony on the second floor of Jai Khodiyar Chambers on Rajputpura main road on Saturday morning. The duo ran a tea stall outside Rajeshree Cinema and their business was affected due to the pandemic.
With cinema halls due to the government guidelines, their tea stall didn’t do much business after the lockdown was lifted. For their survival, they had borrowed money from different lenders. For the past few weeks, the lenders had started asking for their money and the duo sought more time,” said sub-inspector S H Nimavat of A Division police station.
The two realized that they would not be able to repay the loan. A few days ago, Vijay took her mother to an old-age home and made arrangements for her stay.
Sometime between October 29 night and Saturday morning, Pratap and Vijay went to Jai Khodiyar Chambers and consumed poison to end their lives.
They were identified from Aadhaar cards found in their pockets. Probe revealed a man named Hitesh had disappeared with Rs 15 lakh which the deceased had lent him. After they lost the money, the family was forced to live in a rented house and start a tea stall for survival.