Surat, September 11: A COMPUTER professional, Deepak Jogadia, poisoned his two daughters and then committed suicide in Rander area of Surat on Monday evening. The three were taken to a nearby hospital, but were declared brought dead by doctors. Jogadia's wife had committed suicide a month ago, which could have provoked him to take this step, said police.

"Jogadia, a 30-year-old resident of Amarkunj Society on Chhaprabhata Road, left his house with his two daughters Kirti (4) and Dhruvi (3) on Monday afternoon.

The three were found lying on the roadside near Asarambapu's Ashram in Jehangirpura area of Rander. Passers-by used Jogadia's mobile phone to call the last number, which incidentally belonged to his brother Ashwin.

Ashwin and other relatives took the three to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead on arrival.

Later, Rander police took charge of the bodies and sent it to the New Civil Hospital for post-mortem. They said Jogadia took his two daughters to the temple at the Ashram before going to a nearby garden where he first poisoned his two daughters and then consumed it himself.

PSI D C Patel said, "Jogadia was employed as a computer professional in a private firm. His wife Neha committed suicide a month ago though the reason is still not clear. After her death, he fell under mental depression. Even the children missed their mother a lot. This could have driven him to take such an extreme step."