Amaravati, March 30 : In a shocking incident on Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, four members of a family of a goldsmith died by suicide in Andhra Pradesh's Satya Sai district.

Krishnama Chary, 55, his wife Saralamma, and their sons Santosh and Bhuvanesh were found dead at their residence in Madakasira town on Sunday.

On receipt of information, police rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies to the government hospital for autopsy.

Santosh and Bhuvanesh were Class 10 and 6 students, respectively.

According to police, the suicides came to light when Krishnama Chary's father went to the house on Sunday morning and found his son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons lying dead. He informed the relatives and also alerted the police.

Police suspect that the four consumed cyanide, used for the purification and colouring of gold jewellery. A police officer said they found a bottle of cyanide in the house.

Police were investigating to find out if Krishnama Chary and Saralamma killed their sons before ending their lives.

A police officer said they have registered a case and taken up an investigation. Police recorded the statements of the relatives of the family to find out the reasons.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the couple resorted to the extreme step due to financial and family problems.

In another incident in Guntur, a six-year-old boy died and his brother was injured due to torture by their stepmother.

According to police, Karthik died after his stepmother, Lakshmi, pushed him against the wall. Karthik's elder brother, Akash, was injured due to the torture.

Sagar had married Lakshmi after the death of his first wife, with whom he had two sons. Lakshmi has been mistreating the children and subjecting them to torture. This came to light after Karthik succumbed.

Police registered a case and arrested Lakshmi. The injured boy was shifted to the hospital. Police were questioning Sagar.

/IANS