KalingaTV News Network
Sambalpur: In a heart-rending incident, bodies of five members of a family were found on railway track near Sarala Junction on Tuesday night. Though the exact reason of their death is yet to be ascertained, mass suicide over poverty is suspected.
The deceased have been identified as Dharanidhar Panda of Jagannath Colony in Sambalpur, his wife Sangita Panda and their three daughters, out of which two were identified as Aparajita and Ananya.
Sources said that driver of Sambalpur – Jharsuguda DMU found the bodies on the railway track and informed the Government Railway Police (GRP).
GRP along with Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrived at the spot and recovered the bodies. ATM card, PAN card and mobile phones were seized from the spot.
From its preliminary investigation, police assumed the incident to be a case of mass suicide. However, investigation is on to find out the exact reason of the death of five members of a family.
Meanwhile, the bodies have been sent for postmortem.
Sambalpur MLA Raseswari Panigrahi reached the spot after getting information about the incident. “I knew about the incident early this morning from a relative of the deceased persons. It is very unfortunate incident that five members of a family of different age groups have committed suicide, as it is alleged. A proper investigation should be conducted to find out the exact reason behind taking such a drastic step,” said Panigrahi.
Ms Kalinga