Chennai, Dec 13 (IANS): Nine members of two different families in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram and Dindigul districts committed suicide, police said.

According to the police, Villupuram district resident M. Arunkumar and his family members consisting of wife Sivagami, daughters Yuvashri (3), Priyadarshini (5) and three-month-old infant Bharathi died after consuming poison.

Police said, Arunkumar had incurred debt in his business and had also invested heavily in the banned lottery in the state to recoup his business losses.

Arunkumar and his wife decided to commit suicide after he lost a huge amount of money in the lottery also.

On Thursday night, after poisoning their children, the couple also consumed the poison and died.

Prior to his death, Arunkumar sent a WhatsApp message to his friends about the reasons for taking the extreme decision.

In the Dindigul district, four members of a family jumped before a running train near the Kodai Road Railway Station on Friday, police said.

The police were investigating the reasons for the suicide.

The four deceased were identified as Uthirapathi, Sangeetha, Abhinaya Shree and Akash. All hailed from Truchirappalli.