Feeling lonely and cut off father, son end lives

A 70-year-old man and his 40-year-old son committed suicide here due to loneliness and a feeling of being cut off from society.

The police said they found the bodies of Gurpal Singh Dhillon, a retired officer of a public sector bank in Delhi and his only son Sumit Kumar Singh Dhillon in their rented flat at Kalyani Apartments in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, Friday morning.

Gurpal's wife had died years ago while Sumit could not get a job as he was mentally unstable. Gurpal used to cook the food and feed Sumit.

Police said both did not socialise -- Gurpal because of his age and as he took a lot of medicines while his son was not in a proper frame of mind to interact with people.

The police said they received a call from the flat owner and upon breaking open the gate, found froth on their mouths. Police suspect they may have consumed some poisonous substance.

Gurpal's daughter is married and lives with her husband in the US.

Police officer Hardayal Singh Yadav said: "Though the daughter and son-in-law used to call them late at night but when yesterday they did not get any response, the daughter sought help from the landlord who reached the apartment Friday morning and called the police after finding them dead.

"We have informed the daughter. The bodies have been sent for autopsy and an investigation is being conducted."