Unemployed man dies by suicide after killing cancer-stricken wife and differently abled 5-year-old daughter | Mumbai news

Mumbai: Three members of a family were found dead in their rented apartment in Bolinj, a residential area in Virar West. The deceased have been identified as a 52-year-old man, his 42-year-old wife, and their five-year-old daughter. The couple’s 11-year-old son discovered the bodies on Thursday morning.

According to the Bolinj police, the man, who was unemployed, is suspected of first killing his wife—who was battling neck cancer—and their daughter, a child with special needs, before ending his own life. The family had been residing in a fifth-floor apartment in Global City, Virar West, for the past two years.

Police sources revealed that the family had been struggling financially. The wife, despite undergoing chemotherapy, was the primary breadwinner, offering private tuition to sustain the household. Neighbours and relatives stated that mounting medical expenses and the additional responsibility of caring for their daughter, who had a hearing disability, had taken a toll on the man’s mental health, leading to frequent arguments over financial matters.

The incident is believed to have taken place on Tuesday while the couple’s 11-year-old son was at school. When he returned home around 4 pm, he knocked on the door but received no response. Assuming his parents had gone to the hospital, he went to a friend’s house. Later in the evening, he returned with his friend’s mother, but still found no response from inside the apartment. Multiple calls to his parents’ phones also went unanswered, prompting him to spend the night at his friend’s place.

The following day, around 5 pm, the son returned to his home, only to find that neighbours had alerted the police after noticing a foul smell emanating from the flat. Upon entering, he discovered his father’s dead body, while his mother and sister lay lifeless on the floor.

The police took the boy into their custody before handing him over to the Child Welfare Committee on Thursday, as there were no immediate relatives available to take care of him.

Inspector Prakash Sawant of Bolinj police stated that the bodies have been sent to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for postmortem to determine the exact causes of death. Authorities are also examining the house and the wife’s laptop to check for a possible suicide note.

Investigations have revealed that the couple originally hailed from Karnataka and had previously lived in Charkop, Kandivali, before moving to Virar two years ago. The man’s brother informed the police that the family’s financial situation had worsened drastically after the wife’s cancer diagnosis, adding to the husband’s mental anguish.