Man kills 5 of his family in Khammam, ends life

KHAMMAM: In a shocking incident in the dead of night, a 32-year-old man allegedly killed five of his family members by pushing them into an irrigation canal and later committed suicide by drowning in canal.
The incident took place at Jilla Cheruvu village of Kusumanchi mandal in Khammam district in the early hours of Wednesday. A pall of gloom descended on the tiny village after the incident. Only one person in the family survived.
According to police, Shaik Saleem, 32, woke up the members of his family after midnight and took them to an irrigation canal passing through the village, saying that he will offer special prayers near the water body to ward off the evil that is likely to afflict them.When Saleem and six others in the family reached the canal, he told his brother Shaik Lal that he had forgotten the material meant for the offering at home.
As Shaik Lal rushed to bring the offering material, Saleem allegedly pushed his father Shaik Pentu Saheb, 55, his mother Shaik Mahbub Bi, 50, wife Razia, 28, and children Shahnaz Begum, 8, and Nasreen, 4.
When Lal returned, he did not find them at the canal. He rushed to the village and informed the neighbours. The bodies were later fished out from the canal of the Paleru reservoir.
The police initially said it was a suicide pact. Later, the police said they suspect it as a murder and suicide case. Khammam police commissioner Tafseer Iqbal is supervising the investigation.