On January 20, 2026, a horrifying discovery was made at a house in Kaushik Vihar Colony, Sarsawa, in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Police received information early in the morning that five family members were found dead inside one locked room.
The deceased were identified as 40-year-old Ashok Rathi, a land surveyor working in the district administration, his wife Ajanta (37), his elderly mother Vidyawati (70), and their two teenage sons Kartik (16) and Dev (13).
All five bodies were discovered lying in the same room, each showing gunshot wounds to the head, according to senior police officials.
Near Ashok’s body, investigators found three loaded pistols, which are believed to have been used in the incident.
Police officers, including the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ashish Tiwari, DIG Abhishek Singh, and SP Rural Sagar Jain, immediately visited the scene to begin a detailed probe.
Preliminary investigations suggested that the shots were fired at close range, and there were no signs of forced entry or struggle found inside the home.
Around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Ashok had reportedly sent a distressed voice message to a relative saying, “Mere se bohot badi galti ho gayi hai, me kya karu” (“I’ve made a big mistake, what do I do?”), which raised alarm among family members.
The discovery came when a neighbour repeatedly knocked on the family’s door and, receiving no response, alerted the police who then broke it open.
Police are considering murder-suicide as one possible angle, with the theory that Ashok may have killed his family before taking his own life.
Investigators are also exploring other possible motives, including mental health issues, domestic stress, financial concerns, or interpersonal disputes, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Ashok was reportedly receiving treatment for depression, and neighbours described the family as peaceful with no known history of conflict.
Police are gathering more evidence, including CCTV footage from nearby cameras and information from locals, to better understand the circumstances.
Forensic teams have collected samples at the scene, and all bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination to determine exact cause and sequence of events.
Authorities are also checking whether the recovered firearms were legally owned or unlicensed, which could influence the legal framing of the incident.
No official motive has been released so far, and police are keeping their investigation open to all possibilities.
The local community has been shocked by the scale and nature of the incident, prompting attention from both Saharanpur police and district authorities.
Additional interviews with family members and acquaintances are being conducted as the probe continues.
Officials have emphasised the importance of careful forensic and legal procedures as the case unfolds.
At this stage, police are refraining from assigning blame publicly until post-mortem and scientific analysis reports are received.
Authorities have requested privacy and cooperation from neighbours as they work to clarify whether this was a tragic murder-suicide or a different type of crime.