Mother-daughter duo dies in suspected suicide driven by poverty in Bolangir, kid critical

An elderly woman and her daughter died after allegedly consuming poison at Patimal village under Khaprakhol police station in Bolangir district on Tuesday.

The deceased have been identified as Kalabati Sahu (70) and her 40-year-old daughter Santoshini Sahu.

Santoshini’s six-year-old son is stated to be critical. He was initially admitted to Khaprakhol medical in a serious condition. Later, he was shifted to Patnagarh medical as his condition deteriorated.

As per reports, the neighbours found three of them lying on the floor inside their house and informed the police.

By the time Khaprakhol police reached the spot, the mother-daughter duo had died. The child was immediately admitted to the hospital.

Though the exact reason behind the suicide is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected to be a case of suicide driven by extreme poverty. The mother and daughter might have consumed poison and later fed it to the child due to some dispute in the family over some financial issues.

Speaking about the possible reasons, social activist Sunita Tripathy said, “Besides being poor, she had been suffering from cancer. To get herself treated, she had taken loans from various sources. She was neither able to repay loans nor had any ray of hope for her treatment. This is why she took the extreme step.”

CWC Chairman Jogeswar Mohanty said, “CWC will take care of the child Rama Sahu and ensure his safe upbringing.”

When contacted, ADM A N Singh Laguri said, “We are yet to receive details about the incident. The tehsildar has been asked to collect details and then only future course of action could be ascertained.”