Jobless Father Slit Children's Throats Using Tile Cutter Before Killing Self Over Money Troubles

An Indian father, who lost his job a couple of months back due to the pandemic, has allegedly resorted to slitting the throats of his teenage son and daughter with a tile cutter before killing himself out of depression, at their flat in a multistoried building in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Ravi Thackeray, 56, a civil engineer who has become unemployed in the last few months, reportedly committed suicide by consuming poison after horrifically slashing the throats of his teenage son and daughter with a tile cutter as their family undergoes a severe financial crisis, NDTV reported.

Thackeray's 16-year-old son Ritesh immediately died of his fatal injuries. Meanwhile, his 14-year-old daughter Gunjan survived the ordeal and is now being treated at a hospital in critical condition, India.com reported.

The horrifying incident reportedly happened in the early hours of Saturday, Aug. 28. Thackerey and his wife Ranjana, both of whom have reportedly been suffering from acute depression, decided to take their own lives that night by ingesting lethal poison after slashing their children's throats.

Ranjana survived the suicide attempt and is now being treated in the same hospital as her daughter. According to Ranjana, she and her husband had laid out their plan to murder their own children before killing themselves some two to three days before the incident.

Investigators reportedly recovered a suicide note from their residence.

"I was unable to pay the installments for our house and bear the expense of my children's education," read the note. The couple believed that the children would not have a good future after their death and decided to kill them as well, the letter concluded.

“The man, Ravi Thackeray, was jobless for the last three months. Due to the financial hardships and depression, he and his wife Ranjana, 50, decided to end their lives and kill their two children at their residence in Sahara Estate Township,” Niranjan Sharma, Misrod Police Station Inspector said.

“The couple slit the throats of their children using a tile cutter and then consumed poison. While their 16-year-old son Ritesh died, their daughter Gunjan survived,” he continued.

The mother and daughter have been admitted to the government-run Hamidia Hospital. Meanwhile, the bodies of Thackeray and Ranjan have been sent to the coroner's office for a post-mortem examination.