Dubai: Neighbours of the Indian family who allegedly committed suicide in Al Karama described them as non-interfering.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening and Dubai Police are investigating the case.
The woman, 38, her 22-year-old son from a previous marriage and her 20-year-old sister died after they hanged themselves from fans in their second floor flat. Police have cordoned off the flat, located above the Family Supermarket in the busy area of Al Karama. The 40-year-old husband who claimed to have failed in his suicide attempt informed the police about the tragedy.
The family's textile shop, located in the same building, was closed on Thursday with concerned employees seen lingering outside. They had worried looks on their faces, with livelihood being their main concern.
With no clear picture emerging on the reason behind the suicides, speculations over the family's financial problems are rife.
An employee of the family's textile shop said: "We did not have any idea of our boss having a huge debt. We got our salaries on time. There are four of us who work here — one Pakistani and three Indians. Other than the boss, the ladies also used to man the cash counter and supervise the shop. On Wednesday, the woman's sister was at the cash counter until noon. After lunch, no one from the family came to the shop. The shop is now closed and we have no idea what happens to our jobs."
Gulf News has also learnt that the woman was a Hindu and had embraced Islam, while her son and her sister were Hindus. The watchman of the building said daily at 4pm the 38-year-old woman used to habitually switch on the lights of the building's reception area while on her way out to the textile shop.
The watchman, who was hesitant to provide more details and refused to give his name, reluctantly stated: "On Wednesday afternoon when I did not see the lights on in the reception area, I jokingly enquired with the building's plumber as to how on Earth did the lady forget to switch on the lights? I did not get to see her yesterday [Wednesday]. The plumber and I did not make a big deal out of it. He and I later went to my room on the ground floor to watch a DVD of a Hindi movie.
"After half-an-hour, we heard an ambulance siren, but we didn't bother to probe as ours is a busy area and ambulances race by every other day. We continued watching the movie, but were disturbed by a siren which sounded more like that of a police van. We came out and to my shock I saw a police vehicle.A large crowd was milling around the vehicle and the police were waiting for me to open the electronic gate to enter the premises. It was then that I learnt of the suicides. I immediately rushed to the second floor accompanied by the police but was not allowed to enter the flat. Instead, I was ordered to control the crowd. The bodies were taken in the two ambulances after 10pm."
Staff at the Family Supermarket said the family paid in cash each time they bought something. One staff said: "On Wednesday one of the ladies bought vegetables. The son came down later for a pack of cigarettes. Few hours later we learnt that they had committed suicide. We are all in a state of shock."
Previous cases
October 30, 2006: A man killed his wife and two-year-old daughter before jumping to his death from their 10th floor flat in the Al Qasimiya area, Sharjah in what police have confirmed was a murder-suicide.
September 24, 2005: An Indian killed his wife and four children, the youngest of whom was eight months old, before killing himself, in their Sharjah industrial area flat .
