S Ramaiah, a trader, jumped into the Owk reservoir in the district last evening along with his seven family members, including grandchildren, according to the police.
After getting the information about the alleged suicide bid last evening, a police team managed to rescue Ramaiah, his younger son and his wife, while during a search operation for others that lasted till this afternoon, the police retrieved the bodies of five others, the DSP said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Ramaiah was supposed to pay an amount of Rs. 50 lakh to farmers from whom he had bought bengal gram, also known as chana dal in Indian cuisine.
“The prices of bengal gram fell in the market and he was finding it difficult to pay the amount to the farmers, who reportedly pressurised him over their due amounts,” the senior police officer said, adding further probe was on.