3 deaths in 7 months left the Faridabad family depressed, say neighbours

When everything seemed to be getting better after a serious financial crisis, the Faridabad family’s youngest member met with an accident that left him bed-ridden for weeks.

One person who the Mathews family remembered minutes before they ended their lives was Upendra Kumar, their youngest sibling Sanju’s friend who had helped them during their time of difficulty.

Upendra’s name is mentioned in the suicide note that the four siblings before taking the extreme step.

Upendra had lent ₹20,000 to the family when they were facing a serious financial crisis. Showing their concern towards the man moments before their death, the siblings wrote in their note that their belongings be sold to pay back the money which they owed Upendra.

Speaking to HT, Upendra Kumar, who works at an automobiles company and lives in Delhi’s Badarpur, recalled his friendship with Sanju, who died last month.

He claimed that he and Sanju were friends for last 8 years.

“We had met through a common friend. One of my friends’ father and Sanju’s father used to work at Rajhans hotel, which came under the Haryana tourism department. Sanju met with an accident while riding a bike in May this year. He was taken to AIIMS and was under treatment for a long time,” he said.

Upendra remembers that Sanju’s lower body had become almost paralysed and he was bed-ridden for weeks. “This was the time when the family was facing a severe financial crunch and I had lent them ₹20,000,” he said.

“His death last month was one of the most depressing events in my life. Despite my help, Sanju could not be saved. After his death, whenever I interacted with his siblings they sounded very depressed. They had lost three members of their family this year,” Upendra said.

The Family

Sometime between March and April this year, the father of the siblings, Joel John Mathews, breathed his last. None of the people known to the family or neighbours could verify the actual date of Joel’s demise.

An officer at the Haryana government’s tourism department, Joel Mathews was allotted a government accommodation at Surajkund, which the family had to later vacate. The six-member family then landed up at the C 31/100 Aman Apartments flat in Dayalbagh in May this year, unaware that this would be their last address.

After Joel’s death, Agnes started running the house but she retired within weeks. The family later moved to their rented accommodation in Dayalbagh and started staying there on a rent of ₹10,000 a month.

When everything seemed to be getting better, the family’s youngest member, Sanju, met with an accident in May while riding a motorbike in Delhi. The impact of the accident was such that Sanju was left bed-ridden with his lower body almost paralysed.

In June, while Sanju was still bed-ridden, Agnes — who was suffering from severe diabetes — fell ill and passed away on July 21. Sanju then breathed his last a couple of months later. Neighbours and people known to the family say that since July, the four sibling had been living an isolated life.