Praveen Mittal, who died in an alleged suicide pact, along with six of his family members, was reportedly under a huge debt, amounting to around Rs 20 crore. Mr Mittal and family - elderly parents, wife and three young children - died in a mass suicide on Monday night. The family left behind a note, requesting that the last rites be performed by Mr Mittal's cousin Sandeep Agarwal, who he spoke to five days ago.

On Monday, Mr Mittal and family, residents of Dehradun, attended a spiritual event at the Bageshwar Dham. While on their way back, the family allegedly consumed poison and died by suicide.

The incident came to light when a resident of the neighbourhood, who was out on a walk, spotted the car with an Uttarakhand number plate parked behind his car. A man, believed to be Praveen Mittal, was sitting by the car, on the pavement.

"What we found odd was a towel hanging from the car," said a resident. "My brother and I approached the man and asked him where he was from. He said the family was returning from Bageshwar Dham. Since they didn't find any hotel, they decided to spend the night in the car. I asked him to move the car to the market area," he added.

The man got up, apparently to move the car, but the resident sensed something wrong. When he approached the car and peered inside, he saw a horrifying scene - six dead bodies and a stinking car.

"I saw six people lying flat. They had vomited on each other. The car was stinking. I pulled the man away and asked what the matter was. He then said his family had died in a suicide pact and that he would die too, in five minutes. The man claimed to be under huge debt," the resident shared.

The family was rushed to the hospital but all were declared dead. The man could have been saved, had the ambulance arrived on time, said the resident.

Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police Himadri Kaushik and Deputy Commissioner of Police Law and Order Amit Dahiya were among police officers that reached the spot and began an investigation.

"We received information that six people have been brought to Ojas Hospital. When we reached there, we learnt they were declared dead," said Himadri Kaushik.

The bodies have been sent to the mortuary of a private hospital.

Mittal had earlier set up a scrap factory in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, but financial troubles led to its seizure by the bank. Following this setback, he left Panchkula and shifted to Dehradun, cutting ties with relatives for nearly six years. Over the years, he moved from Dehradun to Kharar in Punjab and then to Pinjore, Haryana. A month ago, he returned to Panchkula and worked as a taxi driver in the Saketri area.