Overview

• On July 26 in Tehar village of Sagar district, Manohar Lodhi (45), his daughter Shivani (18), son Ankit (16) and grandmother Phulrani (70) ingested sulphas tablets in a suspected suicide pact
• Phulrani and Ankit were declared dead at the farmhouse while Shivani died at Khurai Civil Hospital and Manohar en route to Sagar District Hospital
• Police recovered a suicide note and have launched post-mortem examinations and recorded witness statements to probe the motive
• Sulphas tablets, also known as celphos, contain aluminium phosphide and have a fatality rate over 60 percent with no known antidote
• This case follows a series of rural family poisonings since 2024 that officials attribute to acute socioeconomic and psychological distress in agricultural regions