A family of five allegedly died by suicide and their bodies were found in an abandoned car in Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai district on Wednesday.

The car was found parked on the Trichy-Karaikudi National Highway on Wednesday morning. Locals alerted the cops after seeing the car parked at the same spot in Namanasamudran since the previous evening.

According to reports, the deceased have been identified as Manikandan, a 50-year-old businessman, his wife Nithya, mother Saroja, and their two children. Manikandan and his family were residents of Salem, a city located approximately 200 kilometers from Pudukkottai.

It is suspected that the victims had consumed poison, suggests preliminary investigation.

The police have also recovered a note from the car, but the exact contents have not been disclosed. However, the police are probing whether financial pressure from moneylenders could have driven the family to take such a drastic step.

The bodies have been sent to the Pudukkottai Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examinations. The results are expected to provide further insights into the cause of death.