Rs 33-lakh debt, loss of close kin troubled family: Police in Vadodara triple suicide case

Police have seized three mobile phones and the suicide note as part of the investigation. The bodies were handed over to the family for the last rites after a panel post-mortem examination on Thursday.

A house sale to repay debts, the loss of close family members and a business struggling to stay afloat have emerged as key factors in the deaths of a Vadodara woman and her two adult children, whose bodies were found at their home on Wednesday evening.

The city police said Thursday that a three-page suicide note recovered from the house pointed to financial distress as a possible reason behind the deaths.

Aarti Soni, 50, the owner of an Ayurveda hospital on Old Para Road, her son Nilkanth and daughter Jenny were found hanging in their three-storey house in Dala Patel’s Pol, also known as Narsinhji’s Pol, in the city’s Mandvi area on October 28.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (H Division) GB Bambhaniya said the post-mortem examination confirmed that all three had died by hanging. A note written by Aarti and Jenny was found in the house, Bhambaniya said.

“According to the preliminary findings, the family had been struggling with outstanding loans worth Rs 33-35 lakh. They had sold their house to repay the dues, but the sale deed was yet to be executed. The note mentioned handing over the property to a person identified as Shailesh Patel… The suicide note also referred to the deaths of other close family members, including Aarti’s parents and brother. The personal losses and financial strain are being examined as part of the investigation,” Bhambaniya said. Aarti’s husband, Chetan Soni, died of a heart attack last year, according to police.

The note allegedly also referred to religious vows made in the hope of ensuring that the hospital ran smoothly. In it, Jenny had written the name of Lord Ram one lakh times, police officials said. The note also contained a request that the woman employed as domestic help be “treated as innocent” and “not harassed” by the police.

Police have seized three mobile phones and the suicide note as part of the investigation. The bodies were handed over to the family for the last rites after a panel post-mortem examination on Thursday.

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Community leader Shashikant Patadiya said the loss of three members of a family was “deeply distressing” for those who knew the family.