Share broker, mother kill self

Stock market losses and mounting debt forced a city share broker to commit suicide by consuming poison here. His mother also ended her life by consuming poison later. The incident occurred on Tuesday night, police said.

Upendra Bhorania, the 37-year-old share broker-cum-trader, residing at Gulab Vatika on Amin Road of the city, at about zero hours of Wednesday consumed poison and informed his Morvi-based brother-in-law, Arvind Padalia, about it. Padalia soon informed his Rajkot-based relative who reached Bhorania's place and rushed him to Wockhardt Hospital.

On receipt of information, city cops also rushed to the hospital. When doctors of the hospital asked Patel, who had taken Bhorania there, which type of poison he had consumed, Patel went to Bhorania's place where he learnt that the broker's 60-year-old mother, Vijyaben, had also consumed poison. She was also rushed to the hospital. Bhorania died in the wee hours of Wednesday and his mother soon thereafter.

In the primary investigation made by city cops, it came to light that Bhorania could not face the phone calls of his creditors who often threatened him of dire consequences. Recent slump in the stock market had led to about Rs25 lakh debt on him and he had been facing threats from some 'dabba-traders' and financiers, sources said.

Bhorania, who had been trading in stock market for the past three years from home, and his mother were alone in the house on Wednesday as Bhorania's wife and his children had gone to Morvi to attend a wedding.

The share broker's uncle said Bhorania's wife had informed them that her husband had been facing threats from a Vadodara-based person for the past four days.