Vadodara: A 47-year-old woman and her two children were found dead at their residence in the Narsinhji ni Pol area of the old city on Wednesday afternoon in a suspected case of suicide.The deceased were identified as Aarti Soni, her son Nilkanth (27) and daughter Jainy (22).The incident came to light around 4.30pm when a domestic worker arrived at Aarti’s two-storey house and knocked on the door but received no response. She then contacted Ketan Shah, a family friend, who rushed to the spot. When repeated knocks and calls went unanswered, they used a spare key to enter the house.“I saw Aarti, Nilkanth and Jainy hanging from the ceiling fan in the hall. I immediately rushed out to inform others and the police,” Ketan, a jeweller, told TOI.He said he had spoken to Aarti just five days earlier, but she had given no indication of any problems. “In fact, she was talking about expanding their hospital. I have no idea why the family took such a step,” he said, adding that Aarti had booked a flat a few weeks ago.Senior police officials reached the house after being alerted to the incident. A senior police officer said a foul smell was emanating from the house, suggesting that the deaths might have occurred a couple of days earlier.The exact time and circumstances of the deaths will be established through the postmortem examination, the officer said.Police have not yet established a motive. No information has emerged so far suggesting that the family was facing financial or other difficulties. Investigators will question relatives and family friends as part of the probe.Aarti’s husband, Chetan, died of a heart attack last year. Since then, Aarti and her children had been managing the family’s Ayurvedic hospital on Old Padra Road. Ketan, who was Chetan’s friend, had invested in the hospital and was also a business partner.The family also held a licence to manufacture Ayurvedic medicines and operated a manufacturing unit in Jarod, near the Halol highway. Jainy was studying Ayurveda.Police said further details would emerge after the postmortem reports and investigation.
