A 15-year-old girl was among nine members of a "caring and animal loving" family who have been found dead in what appears to have been a suicide pact over financial debts.
The bodies were found in two separate houses that belonged to two brothers from the family in the Sangli district of Maharashtra, India.
Only two cats remain alive at one of the homes with the family described as "caring and animal loving" by locals with a vet, Dr Manik Vanmore, among the dead.
Police believe that the nine people died after consuming poison and that the family was going through financial problems, reported Indian Express.
Suicide notes refer to "repeated and public" harassment that the family suffered from money lenders which was both "mental and physical", it is reported.
The ages of the family range from a girl aged 15, to a 72-year-old woman.
The brothers have been named as Popat Yallapa Vanmore, 52, and Dr Manik Yallapa Vanmore, 49.
The seven other bodies were identified as Sangeeta Popat Vanmore, 48, Archana Popat Vanmore, 30, Shubham Popat Vanmore, 28, Rekha Manik Vanmore, 45, Aditya Manik Vanmore, 15, Anita Manik Vanmore, 28, and Akkatai Vanmore, 72.
Footage taken at the scene shows the corpses lying inside rooms.
They were found by locals who noticed the front doors had not been opened for some time.
Sangli's District Superintendent of Police Dixit Kumar Gedam said: “Nine dead bodies have been recovered in Mhaisal village of Sangli district, out of which three bodies have been recovered from one house and six dead bodies from the other house.
"The forensic team is present on the spot.”
A police investigation is currently under way, with officers registering an unnatural cause of death. The bodies will be sent for autopsies.
Fifteen people from the region, who have allegedly lent money to the brothers, have been arrested and the police are searching for 10 more suspects, reported Indian Express.
A family friend Ashwini Sawant said that they were a "caring" family.
“I literally grew up in their home,” he said,
“All of them were very caring and considered me as one of them. From all the special dishes cooked at their home to all the major events, I have been there. Less than a week ago, I came to their house for a paani-puri party.
"They were a happy family and loved animals. But I also know that over the past few years, they have been under stress because of debt. But we had never imagined this.”
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