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Massacre in India: A Man Stabbed 14 Members of His Family to Death Before Hanging Himself

Police say a 35-year-old man killed his parents and several of his sisters and their children at the family's home on the outskirts of Mumbai.
An Indian forensic expert stands in the door of a house where a 35-year-old man was suspected of murdering 14 family members before hanging himself. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA)

In one of the grisliest massacres in recent Indian history, a man stabbed 14 members of his own family to death, including seven children, before hanging himself on the outskirts of Mumbai, police said on Sunday.

Hasnin Warekar, 35, killed his parents and several of his sisters and their children at the family home shortly after midnight in the city of Thane, about 17 miles north of Mumbai, police spokesman Gajanan Kabdule said. Warekar had reportedly invited his family members over for a celebration of some sort.

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One of Warekar's sisters, Subiya Parmar, was rescued by neighbors and hospitalized for her injuries. She told police she was clueless as to why her brother went berserk.

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"The victim said she did not know why her brother attacked her and other family members. I asked her why she didn't shout or did something to stop him? She said he did not let them make any noise, adding that someone heard some sound, broke the window and brought her to the hospital," said police constable, Meera Madhukar.

Warekar was found hanging from the ceiling with a knife in his hand.

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"He used a big knife. He killed his parents, his sisters and his sisters' children. He slit their throats," Kabdule told Reuters.

Neighbors and other family members said that Warekar was a cheerful person and showed no signs of any psychological disorder.

"I cannot say anything because he was not like that nor was my brother (father of the accused). There was no work-related pressure. Only god knows what had happened to him," said Warekar's uncle Mohammad Zain.

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Police are investigating the possibility that a property dispute lay behind the massacre, though a motive has not yet been established.

Local media reported that Warekar had laced his family's food with a sedative before slaughtering them, but Kabdule said this was unconfirmed and samples taken from the house are still being analyzed.

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