In a shocking case, a 65-year-old cloth merchant in Mandya allegedly murdered his wife and son before ending his life in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to Mandya Superintendent of Police Shobha Rani, the cloth merchant, identified as Prabhakar, who owned a shop in Mandya, allegedly strangled his wife Jyothi, 55, and son Santosh, 30, in their house in Mandya town on the same day around 5.45 to 6 a.m.

A note recovered from his house said he was under pressure to repay a loan he had obtained from a private financial institution, and his business was not doing well.

Ms. Shobharani said Prabhakar had blamed the Shakti scheme, which allows free transport for women in KSRTC buses, for affecting his business. 

The cloth merchant resided in the rented house with his wife, son and daughter-in-law Meghana. Prabhakar’s daughter, who is unmarried, is employed in Bengaluru. His son’s marriage took place in April this year.

The murders came to light early on Tuesday morning when Meghana went to her parents-in-law’s room, the police said.

Though the murders prima facie appear to have been committed due to strangulation, a postmortem report is awaited, police said.

(If you are in distress or having suicidal tendencies, please reach out to these 24/7 helplines: KIRAN at 1800-599-0019 or Arogya Sahayavani helpline at 104.)