India: Doctor in Nagpur hangs herself after killing husband, two children

A 41-year-old doctor allegedly died by suicide after killing her husband and two minor children in the Indian state of Maharashtra’s Nagpur city on August 18.

Local media reported that according to the police, Dr Shushma Rane, her husband Dhiraj, a professor at an engineering college, and their children aged 11 and five were found dead at their home in Om Nagar in the Koradi area.

Bodies of 42-year-ols Dhiraj and the children were found on the bed in the master bedroom, while the doctor was found hanging from a ceiling fan, an official from the Koradi police station told Indian media.

The incident came to light after a 60-year-old female relative, who lived with them, knocked on the bedroom door and did not receive any response, the official added.

The police recovered two syringes and a suicide note from the scene, in which Rane reportedly stated that she had taken the step as she was “unhappy”, police told Indian media.

Furthermore, some India media reports suggest that Rane also wrote that her husband was depressed.

In the purported suicide note, the doctor had mentioned that her husband appeared depressed since some time and she could not see him "dying every day", an Indian media report stated.

Initial investigations suggest that Rane might have served some sedative-laced food to her husband and children to render them unconscious and later injected them with unidentified medicine, police officials said.

The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem and a case was registered.