Five members of two related families, including a three-year-old boy, were today found dead under suspicious circumstances on the city outskirts, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide.
The deceased might have taken the extreme step over their financial losses, the investigators said.
Their bodies were found at two locations in Shankarpalli area on the city outskirts, a day after a missing complaint was lodged with the police by their relatives.
The deceased were identified as Prabhakar Reddy (30), his wife Madhavi (26), and their three-year-old son. The other two bodies were those of Reddy's elder sister Lakshmi (42) and her 16-year-old daughter, police said.
"The bodies of Lakshmi, Madhavi, and the teenage girl were found in the bushes, and those of Prabhakar Reddy and his son inside a car," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishwa Prasad, who ruled out any foul play in the incident.
The two locations are around two kms apart, he said.
"Stock broker Prabhakar Reddy, an MBA graduate, had invested heavily the funds belonging to his relatives and friends in the market, but was being pressured by some of them lately to return the money," the DCP said.
Lakshmi and her husband Ravinder Reddy, along with her family members, were among those who had invested in the market through Prabhakar, the DCP said, adding that Lakshmi recently invested Rs 70 lakh through him.
"Based on the preliminary investigation, financial reasons are suspected to be the cause behind their extreme step. We are investigating whether they suffered any losses. It will be known only after accessing the bank and demat accounts and their investment transactions," he said.
Another senior police official supervising the probe said, "Our primary assessment is that it is a suicide case. It could be poisoning, wherein Reddy may have made them consume a drink laced with some poisonous chemicals and later abandoned the bodies at the bushes."
Reports from the post-mortem and Forensic Science Laboratory are awaited, which could throw more light on the cause of their deaths.
"As of now, a case under section 174 of the CrPC (suspicious death) has been registered and further probe is on," the DCP said.
Earlier today, Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya said the bodies of the two women and the teenage girl were initially found in the bushes, from where "insecticide smell" was emanating.
"After searching the scene by a police team, it seemed somebody dropped them (the three deceased) in a vehicle. A car was found at a distance of two kms, wherein bodies of a man and a boy were found inside the vehicle, from where also the insecticide odour was coming", he said.
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