Four children drowned after their mother jumped into a well with them in an attempt to commit suicide in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district on Sunday, police said.
The incident occurred in Pipalkheda village in Garoth, about 100 km from the district headquarters, in the early hours of the day, an official said.
Locals managed to rescue Sugna Bai (40) from the water body but could not save her children in time, he said.
Bodies of Arvind (11), Anusha (9), Bittu (6) and Kartik (3) were fished out of the well later, Additional Superintendent of Police Hemlata Kuril told reporters.
A preliminary probe has revealed that Sugna's husband, Rodu Singh, thrashed her on Saturday evening, following which she left home with her children and took refuge at a nearby school, she said.
After staying for the night, the woman jumped into the well with the children around 6 am, the official said.
Bodies of the children were sent for post-mortem, and further probe is underway, she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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