Gurgaon doctoral degree holder commits suicide after killing wife, children
Gurgaon, Jul 1: A senior staffer with a Hyderabad-based Pharma company allegedly killed his wife and two children by stabbing them and slitting their throats before ending his life in their Uppal Southend home here, police said on Monday.
Prakash Singh, 55, a PhD holder, was found hanging from a ceiling fan on Sunday night with a suicide note stating that "he was not able to handle his family and is responsible for the deaths of his wife, son and daughter", a police official said.
His wife Sonu Singh (50), who ran a school in Gurgaon, daughter Aditi (22) and son Aditya (13) were found dead with injuries inflicted with a sharp weapon, they said.
The matter was reported to police by the locals who were alerted by the family's pet dogs who continued barking from inside the house.
"The police control room received a call from the neighbours at 9 am. Our team reached Uppal Southend and found the main entrance door of Prakash's house locked from inside," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sadar) Aman Yadav told PTI.
"The door was forced open. Prakash's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan in the drawing room, while the bodies of Aditya and Sonu were lying on the floor. Aditi's body was found on a bed. There were scuffle marks on the inner walls," he said.
The officer said a hammer and four big knives used in the crime were recovered from the spot.
Another police officer said Prakash planned the crime after taking cues from a crime show.
"He planned the entire crime after being inspired by a crime show on TV. He locked the main entrance door from inside so that none of his family member could escape," he said.
Giving details of the grisly crime, the officer said, "Prakash first attacked his family with the hammer and later stabbed them. It seems his family pleaded with him to spare their lives and a scuffle ensued as there were footprints and blood stains on the walls."
After the crime, Prakash spent an hour with his pet dogs. He fed them food before writing the suicide note and later hanged himself to death, police said.
The relatives of the victims claimed the family did not face any financial trouble.
The family had been living peacefully. There were no signs of confrontation or domestic violence reported earlier, they said.
Prakash, a native of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, was staying in Gurgaon from the last eight years.
"We are waiting for the autopsy report to know whether Prakash consumed drugs while committing the crime," the ACP said, adding the suicide note was also being analysed.
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Rs 30,000 cr loss a month: Oil companies bleed as fuel prices on hold amid global energy spike
New Delhi (PTI): About Rs 700-1,000 crore loss per day. Rs 30,000 crore every month. India's state oil companies are quietly absorbing a massive financial hit to keep petrol, diesel and LPG prices unchanged even as global energy markets face a turmoil that is bigger than all previous crises combined.
While countries from Japan to United Kingdom have raised petrol and diesel prices by up to 30 per cent since the start of the West Asia conflict, fuel prices in India continue at two-year-old levels.
The war disrupted India's import of 40 per cent of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel), 90 per cent cooking gas LPG and 65 per cent natural gas (used to generate electricity, make fertilizer, turned into CNG and piped to household kitchens for cooking), but state-owned oil companies have maintained uninterrupted fuel supplies with no rationing or shortage at any point in the last 10 weeks.
But this has come at a cost - Rs 30,000 crore under-recovery or loss every month for the three oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The under-recoveries - the gap between input costs and realised retail prices - rose sharply in March/April before tapering a bit. Daily under-recoveries during April were estimated at about Rs 18 per litre on petrol and Rs 25 per litre on diesel, translating into average losses of Rs 700-1,000 crore a day for OMCs, they said.
At a news briefing on developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said prices in the international markets, on which India relies to meet 88 per cent of its oil needs, have been volatile and supplies impacted.
Crude oil prices which were around USD 70 per barrel two months ago, are now at USD 120, she said. "It has been government's endeavour to keep prices stable so far and that there is no price increase for consumers," she said. "This has hit finances of OMCs... monthly under-recoveries are of the order of Rs 30,000 crore."
She, however, refused to say if retail petrol and diesel prices will continue to hold.
"As I said, the endeavour so far has been to see that there is no price increase," she said.
The three oil marketing companies (OMCs) have worked overtime to keep the supply lines running even when demand spiked due to panic buying.
The government intervention included excise duty reductions and absorption of part of the fuel cost burden. The special additional excise duty on petrol was cut to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 13, while excise duty on diesel was reduced to zero from Rs 10 per litre.
The under-recoveries would have swelled to nearly Rs 62,500 crore had the government not cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre each.
The government, Sharma said, has taken a hit of Rs 14,000 crore a month in cutting the excise duty.
The Centre's effective absorption at peak crude prices was estimated at around Rs 24 per litre for petrol and Rs 30 per litre for diesel.
The February 28 strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran triggered a sharp escalation in West Asia tensions. Energy prices surged as the conflict widened and shipping risks intensified in the Strait of Hormuz - the shipping lane through which India and other countries imported crude oil, LPG and natural gas from Gulf countries. Tanker movement was disrupted.
The companies also faced additional costs from emergency crude sourcing, higher freight charges due to vessel diversions, elevated marine insurance premiums and refinery optimisation expenses. Despite these pressures, fuel and LPG supplies remained uninterrupted across the country.
The surge in crude prices and the decision to shield consumers from higher retail prices placed significant strain on OMC balance sheets and refining margins, sources said.
They added that the measures reflected a policy decision to prioritise consumer stability and economic continuity during a global energy shock.
Sources warned that a prolonged period of elevated crude prices could lead to higher working capital borrowings and force some recalibration of capital expenditure plans. However, investments linked to refining expansion, energy security infrastructure, ethanol blending, biofuels and transition fuels would continue with government backing, they said.
India's approach contrasted with measures adopted by several other economies, where fuel prices rose sharply after the conflict-driven energy shock.
Petrol prices increased by about 34 per cent in Spain, 30 per cent in Japan, Italy and Israel, 27 per cent in Germany and 22 per cent in the United Kingdom, according to estimates. Several countries also introduced rationing, conservation advisories, emergency relief packages or fuel caps.
In India, petrol prices remained Rs 94.77 per litre and diesel at Rs 87.67, with no rationing, mobility restrictions or supply disruptions, they added.
Sharma said the revenues that OMCs earn are used to buy crude oil, build infrastructure to process it into fuel and create channels that will take the fuel to consumers.
Their capex spending is all dependent on the revenues they earn, she added.
