Mutilated bodies of music teacher Dharanidhar Panda, his wife Sangeeta Panda and their three daughters, in the age group of 13-20, were spotted by driver of a train at Sarala junction near Sambalpur town.
Inspector of Sambalpur Government Railway Police G Dungdung said preliminary investigation indicates it’s a case of mass suicide. “We recovered five bodies of four female and one male. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem,” he said.
It was, however, not immediately known whether the family was under any kind of stress to take the extreme step.
Panda worked as a music teacher in a local school. The school was closed for the day following his death as a mark of respect. Colleagues and students remembered Panda as a kind human being and sincere. “He had come to school yesterday (Tuesday) and left in the afternoon. There was no trace of anxiety or depression on his face,” said a colleague.
Expressing shock over the incident, Sambalpur MLA Raseswari Panigrahi demanded a proper probe into the incident to unearth the truth.
