Four members of a family were found dead in a mango orchard in Qila Ghanpur mandal of Wanaparthy district on Wednesday morning.

The deceased have been identified as G. Narsimhulu, 40, his wife Yellamma alias Hemalatha, 35, and their children Sai Nihal, 14, and Sahiti Sri, 12.

According to an official from the Ghanpur police, Narsimhulu killed his wife and children by drowning them in a pond before ending his life by hanging himself around 40–50 metres away from the water body.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the family was residing near the orchard, which Narsimhulu was cultivating on lease for the past few years. Officials said he was suffering from cancer, while his wife also had health-related issues. The family was under severe financial stress due to mounting debts taken from villagers over the past 4–5 years.

Police said that around 20 to 30 people lent money to the family, leading to repayment disputes. A civil case was filed earlier by Narsimhulu citing alleged harassment by money lenders, and notices were issued seeking time for repayment.

The incident took place between 1.50 a.m. and 2 a.m.. Police said a selfie video was recorded and sent to relatives before the incident, in which the man revealed his intention to take the extreme step.

Around 6.30 a.m., after being alerted by relatives, police reached the spot, retrieved the bodies and shifted them to Mahbubnagar Government Hospital for postmortem examination.

A case has been registered and investigation is under way.

(Roshini suicide prevention helpline numbers: 8142020033/44)