Multiple suicide notes recovered from the spot linked the man’s step to ‘severe financial constraints’, police said

The incident took place in Hadiya village of Savarkundla in Amreli while the child's mother was at her parents' home in another village. (Express Photo)

A MAN allegedly killed his five-year-old daughter, put her body inside a refrigerator and died by suicide citing a financial crisis in Amreli district, police said on Friday.

The police on Thursday booked the deceased man, identified as Kishor Natha Dhanak, for the murder of his daughter, Himanshi alias Diku. Dhanak allegedly killed his daughter and then died by suicide at his residence on Wednesday night. Multiple suicide notes recovered from the spot linked the man’s step to “severe financial constraints,” police said.

The incident took place in Hadiya village of Savarkundla in Amreli while the child’s mother was at her parents’ home in another village.

An FIR was filed by Dhanak’s wife and Himanshi’s mother, Manju. Manju said she married Dhanak around seven years ago after her divorce from her previous husband. They were living in Hadiya for the past three years. Manju was a housewife and Dhanak had worked as a site supervisor in construction projects.

On September 14, Manju said she went to another village to meet a relative while Himanshi and Dhanak were at their home. On September 15, when she reached her home, it was locked. When she called her husband, he said he was at a friend’s house in Mahuva, Bhavnagar. He asked her to go to her parents’ home and that he would pick her up on the way home the next day.

The FIR said, “On the morning of September 16, Dhanak called Manju and told her that he was going to collect a pending payment and that she should leave for home after his call around 3 pm. But when he didn’t call back till 6 pm and didn’t receive her calls, she sent her brother to check. However, the brother came back and said that nobody opened the door. Then Manju, her brother and father all went to Hadiya.”

However, when they reached Hadiya, a neighbour advised them not to go inside the house and instead, call the sarpanch. The sarpanch accompanied them into the house and when he opened the door for them, Kishor’s body was found hanging in the room. They began searching for the child. They soon found her body in the refrigerator, said the FIR.

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When the police reached there after being informed, they allegedly found three suicide notes. One of them said that he was “owed Rs 7.25 lakh” which he was not getting back. The second one was his alleged confession to killing the child and placing her body in the refrigerator. The third was also an apology note, the FIR said.

In a video statement, DySP Nayana B Goradiya of Savarkundla Division said, “The sarpanch of Hadiya village informed Savarkundla Rural Police that Kishor Dhanak and his daughter had died. When the police reached there, they found suicide notes that claimed that Kishor had faced problems in his work and had not received payments, leading to financial constraints. So he killed his daughter by strangling her and then died by suicide.”

“We filed a murder case and launched an investigation. The FSL have taken possession of the suicide notes and another team has gone to Mahuva,” she added.

The house in which the child and her father’s body were found was decorated in a festive manner with balloons and kites. Asked about this, DySP Goradiya told The Indian Express on Friday, “When I asked the mother (Manju) regarding the circumstances of the incident, she told me that since the child was much beloved, the couple liked to keep the environment of the house joyful. Thus, they decorated the house in this manner even though there was no particular event or festival.” Further investigation is underway, the DySP added.

Brendan Dabhi works with The Indian Express, focusing his comprehensive reporting primarily on Gujarat. He covers the region's most critical social, legal, and administrative sectors, notably specializing at the intersection of health, social justice, and disasters. Expertise Health and Public Policy: He has deep expertise in healthcare issues, including rare diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the complex logistics of organ transplants, and public health challenges like drug-resistant TB and heat health surveillance. His on-ground reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic and Mucormycosis was critical in exposing healthcare challenges faced by marginalized communities in Gujarat. Social Justice and Legal Administration: He reports on the functioning of the legal and police system, including the impact of judicial philosophy, forensics and crucial administrative reforms (. He covers major surveillance and crackdown exercises by the Gujarat police and security on the international border. Disaster and Crisis Management: His work closely tracks how government and civic bodies respond to large-scale crises, providing essential coverage on the human and administrative fallout of disasters including cyclones, floods, conflict, major fires and reported extensively on the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad. Civic Infrastructure and Governance: Provides timely reports on critical civic failures,  including large scale infrastructure projects by the railways and civic bodies, as well as  the enforcement of municipal regulations and their impact on residents and heritage. ... Read More

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