'Broken bangles inside house point to signs of distress': Businessman, wife, teen daughter die by suicide in Lucknow; debt cited in note

LUCKNOW: A 48-year-old cloth merchant allegedly died by suicide along with his wife and 16-year-old daughter by consuming poison. The incident took place in Ashrafabad area under Chowk police station limits.All three were found unconscious in their flat on Monday morning. Foam was seen coming out of their mouths, indicating possible poisoning, said police.Police rushed to the scene after being alerted by the deceased’s brother and shifted the trio to KGMU Trauma Centre, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.The deceased were identified as Shobhit Rastogi (48), his wife Shuchita (45), and daughter Khyati (16). A suicide note was recovered from the flat in which Shobhit reportedly wrote that the family was under severe stress due to debt and could no longer cope with the financial burden.According to DCP Vishwajeet Srivastava, the first alert came around 5 am when Shobhit's younger daughter, who survived, informed her uncle Shekhar Rastogi over the phone.Shekhar then informed the police, who found the three unconscious. Forensic teams are examining the scene.Shobhit ran a cloth shop in Rajajipuram and had reportedly taken a bank loan for his business.However, the shop was not doing well, and he was unable to repay the debt, leading to mounting financial stress.Broken bangles were found scattered inside the house, indicating signs of distress.