In a tragic incident a family of seven members, including three children, allegedly died by suicide. The incident occurred in a parked car in Haryana’s Panchkula last night, early investigations suggest they were under heavy debt and likely made a suicide pact. The bodies were discovered locked inside a car parked outside a house in Sector 27.

According to reports, the deceased have been identified as Praveen Mittal, 42, his parents, wife, and three children, two daughters and a son. The family is a resident of Dehradun. They had reportedly attended a spiritual event at the Bageshwar Dham in Panchkula. The family was allegedly returning home when the tragic incident occurred on Sunday.

A Desperate Confession

Local residents, who first spotted the family struggling inside the car. They recounted a harrowing exchange with one of the family members, believed to be Praveen Mittal. Puneet Rana, a local who assisted in pulling the man out of the vehicle. He stated that the man confessed to having consumed poison and declared, “I will die in five minutes as I have also consumed poison,” adding, “We are drowning in debt.” A video reportedly shows the man’s final moments, with locals calling for water and immediate help from authorities.

Puneet told reporters, “The incident happened near our house. Someone told us that a car was parked outside with a towel on it. When we asked, they told us they had come for Baba’s program and couldn’t find a hotel. So they were sleeping in the car. We told them to move the car and park it elsewhere. After that, we noticed that they had vomited on each other. We pulled him out of the car”.

Eyewitness Puneet also described the scene, noting that the family members had vomited on each other. He said the car was “stinking.” He added that only one person was breathing when they were pulled out, while the others appeared unconscious.

Eyewitness discover the horror

While locals lauded the police for their timely arrival, Puneet claimed that the ambulance arrived 45 minutes late. All family members were declared dead upon arrival at the hospital.

According to reports, a few years ago, Mr Mittal had set up a scrap factory in Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi. However, it was later seized by the bank due to increasing debt. One day, financially distressed, Mr Mittal left Panchkula and moved to Dehradun. There, he remained out of touch with the family for about six years.

At the time of move, Mr Mittal had a debt of about Rs 20 crore, said his cousin Sandeep Agarwal.

Police statement

Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police Himadri Kaushik confirmed that an initial probe points to a case of suicide. “Upon initial probe, it seemed like a case of suicide. The forensic team has reached the spot. We will collect all the evidence from the crime scene and analyse it scientifically,” Himadri Kaushik said.

DCP (Crime), Panchkula, Haryana, Amit Dahiya said. “At the moment, we are investigating the case from all angles. We are questioning the people in the area and going through the CCTV footage.

Suicide Note Found

Meanwhile, the police have confirmed the discovery of a suicide note at the site. However, its details are yet to be disclosed. Authorities believe heavy debt and financial distress were the primary reasons behind the family’s extreme step. The bodies have been moved to a private hospital in Panchkula for post-mortem examination.