Shamed by theft allegations, a 48-year-old man and five members of his family consumed poison in a village in Chhattisgarh's Dhamtari district but miraculously survived, police said on Tuesday.
Dilip Yadav, his wife Kalindri Bai (45), daughters Urvashi (23) and Tameshwari (21) and sons Sunil (18) and Rajesh (16) of Jugdehi village tried to commit suicide, Bhakara Station House Officer Santosh Jain said.
The attempted mass suicide took place on Monday night.
Neighbours and other villagers rushed them to the district hospital, where their condition is said to be stable, the officer said.
One of the suns, Sunil, said the police took away his father but released him on Sunday after questioning him over a theft in the house of Nemichand Sahu in the village.
On Monday morning, the village sarpanch and panchayat officers reached their house and reportedly told Dilip to return the stolen anklets and Rs 500, Sunil added.
Claiming innocence, Sunil dubbed the theft allegations a harassment.
The police said a case was lodged on Monday but no one from the Yadav family was detained for questioning. The complainant had named Yadav as a suspect.
