Days after the mass suicide by 11 members of a family in Delhi, seven members of a family allegedly committed suicide on Sunday night in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

The mass suicide has allegedly been committed by the family of Deepak Kumar Jha who was living in a rented house near Badeya cold storage under the jurisdiction of Kanke police station in Ranchi. The police have begun investigation into the case saying ‘prima facie it seems to be a case of mass suicide as the family was reeling under financial hardship’.

Deepak Kumar Jha, hailing from Bhagalpur in Bihar, was said to be working as a salesman in a private firm. He was living with his aged parents, wife, two children and younger brother, reports The Hindu.

‘Police have started investigation into the case….two bodies have been found hanging from the ceiling while others were lying on bed…forensic team have been summoned to gather the evidences...it is only after post-mortem report of the bodies that we can ascertain the real cause of the death,’ Anish Kumar Gupta, Senior Superintendent of Police, Ranchi, told local journalists.

‘But, prima facie it seems to be a case of mass suicide,’ he added.

However, locals said Mr. Jha was under heavy debt and wanted to set up a factory. His father was had retired from his job and his younger brother too had no regular income.

Earlier this month, another family of six had committed suicide in their apartment in Hazaribag district of Jharkhand. The police had suspected financial stress to be the reason behind the family taking the extreme step.