Unable to repay her loans, a woman, along with her eight-year-old son on Wednesday jumped into the Chitroptala river near Nemala, about 30km from Cuttack city.

Locals said that the woman, identified as Suhana Parveen, committed suicide because she was unable to repay the loans she had taken from different lending groups active in the area.

The body of her son, Sheikh Tayeeruddin, was recovered from the river. The doctor pronounced him dead at the hospital. However, Parveen’s body is yet to be recovered.

Her 10-year-old daughter, Sumana Parveen, said, “While we were passing through the bridge, my mother tried to push me into the river. As I protested, she suddenly threw my younger brother into the river and immediately jumped in herself. When I started crying, the locals helped me.”