Four members of a farmer's family allegedly committed suicide at their home in nearby Tirupur district, reportedly due to the financial burden, police said. The neighbours, who noticed the house closed for a long time this morning at Dharapuram village, peeped in and found Muthuswamy, his mother and two children hanging from the ceiling, police said.

The farmer's wife had gone to a nearby village to attend a festival, they said. Police said the farmer first hung his 11-year-old daughter and his four-year-old son before he and his mother ended their lives in a similar manner. Muthusamy, who had taken four acres of land on contract, was upset as he could not get expected returns from farming.