Pune, Jan 25 (IANS): Police in Pune have fished out bodies of at least 7 members of a family from different points in a river on the outskirts of the city in the past five days, an official said on Tuesday.

The bodies recovered include those of an elderly couple, a young man and woman, and three minor children, and they are said to be residents of a village in Parner in neighbouring Ahmednagar.

The bodies were found in different spots in the Bheema River at Yavet village and were fished around 200-300 metres apart. Further searches are going on, police said.

They have been identified as of Mohan Uttam Pawar, his wife Sangita Pawar, daughter Rani Shyam Phulware, her husband Shyam Phulware, and their children.

According to preliminary investigations, the family drove down from Ahmednagar to Daund shortly before midnight on January 17 and then reportedly jumped into the river.

The first of the bodies - of a woman - was spotted by locals the next day and police informed. After a search in the river length in the vicinity, the rest were brought out in the past five days.

Even as the incident sent shocks among people in the two district, the Pune police are investigating various angles, including if it was a suicide pact, or what the motives behind their drastic action could be, etc.