Jhargram, Feb. 24: Five friends aged between 13 and 19 were found dead beside a pond in West Midnapore last evening, their hands tied to one another with dupattas. A sixth girl who was part of the group said they had drank pesticide.

From her hospital bed, the sixth girl spoke of elopement proposals by some youths to three of them and villagers' taunts about their friendship.

One of the girls, aged 19, was to get married on March 5. The family of a prospective suitor was to meet another girl in the group today.

The survivor said: "One of our friends told us that a youth in the village had proposed to her. Another youth had proposed to another girl in our group although she was supposed to get married on March 5. One youth had also proposed to me. All the youths had said they would elope with us. But we discussed among ourselves and decided that we would not go anywhere and we would die in this village. That is why we decided to drink poison."

A doctor at Jhargram district hospital, where the girls were first taken yesterday, said the survivor had said villagers taunted them about their friendship and the fact that they spent most of the time together.

Of the six girls, two pairs were cousins. Two of them, including the survivor, were Class IX students while the rest were school dropouts.

The families of the two girls who were about to get married said the duo had never objected to marriage. They also confirmed that the six girls were good friends and always stayed together.

The mother of the girl whose marriage was supposed to be held on March 5 said: "Their friendship surprised us, especially because they did not belong to the same age group."

The father of the girl who was supposed to meet the family of a prospective groom said he had no clue why the girls committed suicide.

A police officer in West Midnapore's Jamboni, where the girls' village is located, said they had met some youths at a village fair on Shiv Ratri last week.

"At the fair, the prospective groom of the girl who was supposed marry on March 5 had come with some of his friends. They were seen speaking to the girls. We are trying to find out whether there is any connection," the officer said.

Grocer Gopal Khuntia, who was the first to be alerted by the surviving girl, said: "Around 5.45pm yesterday, a girl staggered to my shop and told me: 'Uncle, they have all taken poison. I also drank poison.' The girl collapsed, writhing and foaming at the mouth. I shouted for help and ran to a nearby CRPF camp and alerted the personnel."

A CRPF jawan who visited the suicide spot said: "When we went there, we found several plastic glasses and a bottle of water. There was also a packet of Kurkure. The five girls were lying at a distance, foam coming out from their mouths. Their hands were tied together with dupattas."

Chameli Bhuniya, a 15-year-old girl from the same village, said the six were inseparable.

"They were very close to each other and always moved around in a group. They used to attended village fairs and festivals together. I tried to befriend them several times but they never included me in their group. They sometimes stayed together at night in one another's homes during fairs and festivals," Chameli said.

Villagers said the girls were from poor families. Their parents work either as labourers or collect sal leaves and firewood.

The inspector-in-charge of Jamboni police station, A.K. Bagdi, said: "We are unsure why the girls took such a drastic decision."

Another officer said they were waiting for the survivor to recover and answer the police's questions. She is now in Midnapore Medical College Hospital, where her condition was stated to be stable.