Man suspected of killing his family of 14 before hanging self in India

THANE , India, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Police are investigating a murder-suicide case in Thane, India, in which a man slit the throats of 14 family members before hanging himself.

Hasnain Warekar, 35, a senior accountant in a financial services firm, allegedly sedated his family before killing his wife, parents, sisters and seven children early Sunday morning in his home in the Mumbai suburb. He then hanged himself.

One sister, 21, identified as Subiya, was struck in the face by Warekar but survived the massacre. She gave police information about Warekar's alleged actions.

Police have considered a property dispute as a possible motive for the slayings.

The family gathered in a home it had owned for generations to participate in a birthday party for one of Warekar's daughters. Neighbors heard noises and cries for help, and alerted police.

"I saw Hasnain's sister inside a room and calling for help. We tried to open the door but it was locked from [the] inside," neighbor and relative Altamesh Irfan Varekar told the Hindustani Times. "So we dislodged a window grill and pulled Subiya out. She was injured. When we looked inside, bodies were lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Hasnain had hanged himself."

Subiya told police her brother often made threats to the family, but by all accounts was a shy and docile man. Neighbors said he attempted to kill members of his family four years ago, administering an unknown medication to family members, who remained unconscious for hours and were discovered because the family had missed morning prayers.

"Prima facie evidence suggests the accused bolted all the doors of the house and murdered his family while they were asleep with a knife. The accused then hung himself," Ashuthosh Dumbare, joint commissioner of police, said.