Guj man kills adoptive mother before dying by suicide, note cites stock market debt

Surat, Aug 1
A 36-year-old man allegedly strangled his adoptive mother before dying by suicide at their rented home in Surat. Police have recovered a handwritten note indicating he was under severe financial distress after incurring losses in the stock market, officials said on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Rupam Society on A.K. Road in the Ashwinikumar area of Varachha on Friday. The deceased have been identified as Jatin Sonani, 36, and his 63-year-old adoptive mother, Bhanuben.

According to officials who spoke to IANS, Jatin died by suicide after killing his mother. A rope and a rubber band were recovered from the scene as part of the investigation.

Police said they were alerted after neighbours became suspicious when the house remained closed until Friday afternoon and neither mother nor son came outside.

After receiving no response despite knocking on the door, a neighbour looked through a window and saw Bhanuben lying on the bed and Jatin hanging inside the room. Police were immediately informed.

Investigators recovered a one-page handwritten suicide note from the house. According to police, the note referred to financial difficulties, debt-related transactions, and sought forgiveness from family members.

It also reportedly contained a detailed list of people to whom money was owed. In the note, Jatin allegedly wrote that he had accumulated debts of around Rs 45 lakh in the stock market and could not bring himself to tell his mother.

"Jatin had recently left his job at a stationery shop around two-and-a-half to three months ago. He used to remain active on the stock market on his phone," officials said.

Police believe he suffered heavy trading losses, with his total debt estimated at between Rs 40 lakh and Rs 50 lakh. His mother, meanwhile, earned money through sewing work from home to support the household.

The family originally belonged to Mahesanka village in Gariyadhar taluka of Bhavnagar district and had been living in a rented first-floor flat in Varachha.

Jatin was the biological son of his younger uncle, Tribhuvan, but was adopted at the age of six months by his childless elder uncle Jagdish and his wife Bhanuben.

Following Jagdish's death in 2014, the mother and son had continued living together. Both bodies were sent to SMIMER Hospital for forensic postmortem examination.

Police said the report indicated that Bhanuben died after being strangled with a rope, wire or similar material, while Jatin died by hanging.

A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway.