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

The victims were later identified as Manikandan, a 50-year-old businessman, his wife Nithya, mother Saroja, and their two children, according to local reports. There were residents of Salem, which is about 200 km from the city where they were found.

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

The police have recovered a note from the car. They are yet to ascertain what could have driven them to suicide and are probing if the family was under pressure from money lenders. Manikandan, who was into the metal trade, was in debt, suggest reports.

The bodies have been sent to Pudukkottai Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.