A murder-suicide case unfolded in Karnataka’s Mandya district on Tuesday, sending ripples across the state, where an elderly man, a garment trader, first killed his wife and son, and later ended his life by hanging, the police said on Wednesday. According to police, they recovered a suicide note from the scene, in which the now-dead accused revealed he had been reeling under financial woes and held the Karnataka government’s Shakti scheme responsible for compounding his financial strain. 

Police shed light on incident’s details

According to police, the accused, identified as Prabhakar (65), committed the crime in the early hours of June 9, 2026. Prabhakar allegedly strangled his wife, Jyothi (55), using a dhoti while she was asleep at their house. When their son, JP Santosh (30) tried to intervene, Prabhakar killed him too.

The police believe Prabhakar then locked the house, walked into his garment store located nearby, and hanged himself to death. The incident came to light when Santosh’s wife, Meghana (27), found the bodies inside the house and alerted her neighbours.

Prabhakar details business struggles in suicide note

When the police rushed to the spot and began a probe, they found a suicide note there. They learnt that Prabhakar owned a readymade garment outlet named Kamadhenu Kalpavruksha in Mandya. The cops said the family earlier operated the well-known Kamadhenu Vastralaya, but divided the business around five years ago. Post-split, Prabhakar laid his own venture with financial assistance obtained through bank loans and private lenders. 

In the note, he claimed that his business suffered a major blow after the introduction of Karnataka’s Shakti Scheme, which offers free bus travel for women across the state. 

He mentioned in the note that the scheme paved the way for female shoppers from Mandya to travel more frequently to large commercial centres like Bengaluru and Mysuru, where they had access to a wider range of products and larger retail establishments. He alleged that the decline in local footfall affected his business adversely and worsened his debt burden. 

Claims yet to be verified

The police then said the claims are yet to be verified and they are examining all possible factors which may have contributed to the devastating incident. Notably, the incident has struck an emotional chord as Santosh had got married to Meghana just six weeks ago. 

Meghana told the police she and Santosh had gone to sleep together the night prior to the incident, and that she did not hear any unusual sounds. However, when she woke up at 6 am, prepared breakfast and went to wake her mother-in-law, she found Santosh’s body behind the door and Jyothi unresponsive. 

Meanwhile, the investigating police personnel are trying to ascertain how Prabhakar managed to overpower both his wife and adult son. 

Prabhakar’s brother said he spoke to him recently

Prabhakar’s elder brother, Venkatramu, said the recent expenses linked to Santosh’s wedding may have added to his financial strain. He said he had spoken to Prabhakar a few days ago, but maintained that he never indicated that he was facing financial burdens. 

Police said further probe into the incident is underway.