Mystery shrouds Tirupati family deaths: Man finds wife, mother hanging at home, picks up children from school, jumps before train

TIRUPATI: Five members of a family, from Venkatakrishnapalem in Narayanavanam mandal, died in quick succession under mysterious circumstances, sending shockwaves across Tirupati district.The deceased are Mohan (42), his mother Chandrakala (65), wife Haritha (33), son Koushik (14), and daughter Harini (12). They all lived in Venkatakrishnapalem.According to police, Mohan had a cement shop at Puttur, while Haritha ran a tailoring business and a beauty parlour. The family had no financial problems nor any marital or family disputes, according to their relatives and neighbours, police said.On Wednesday afternoon, Mohan informed his brother-in-law Balakrishna, who works at the cement shop, that he was going home to bring lunch for them, but never returned. Balakrishna turned anxious when he could not contact Mohan as his phone was switched off. He went to Mohan's house and found Haritha (33) and Chandrakala (65) dead, hanging from dupattas.'Mystery deepens'Shaken, Balakrishna approached the Narayanavanam police and informed them about the deaths and Mohan being unreachable. He and a few police personnel then went to Koushik and Harini's school at Puttur to check on them, but the school authorities said Mohan had picked up the children saying that his brother-in-law was dead.That's when police grew suspicious of Mohan and tracked his mobile phone, even as relatives expressed concerns over the children's safety. In the meantime, Mohan went to the Vepagunta railway station along with Koushik and Harini, who were in class 9 and 7, respectively. The trio were reportedly run over by the Chennai-Kachiguda Superfast Express on Wednesday night.On receiving an alert from the station master and the railway police, the Narayanavanam and Puttur police visited the spot and confirmed that the father and the two children were dead.'Postmortem report key'Puttur DSP Ravi Kumar said the Narayanavanam police have registered a case and shifted the bodies for a postmortem examination. He said police have intensified the probe to unravel the mystery behind the deaths. "We are scanning Mohan's bank accounts and he family's social media accounts. Call records are also being examined. We are trying to ascertain Mohan's mental health condition too. Post-mortem reports of Haritha and Chandrakala will be crucial in this case," he said.