KOKKADA: Four members of a family, including an endosulfan victim, were found dead at their house in Belthangady taluk on Thursday. Babu Gowda (62), his wife Gangamma (53) and their sons Sadananda (28) and Nithyananda had committed suicide outside their home in Aladka, Kokkada, said police. While three bodies were found floating on the farm pond, the body of Nithyananda was found in a well near the house.
Babu Gowda, who owned about two acres of land was well-off, relatives informed Express. But he was under severe mental stress owing to the ill-health of his sons. While Sadananda was an endosulfan victim and suffered from mental illness,
Nithyananda, who had a diploma in mechanical engineering, was suffering from many ailments following a string of accidents. The third surviving son is a eunuch.
According to Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, Superintendent of Police (Dakshina Kannada), "On questioning neighbours and relatives, we found that the parents were constantly worried about the fate of their two children as they needed full-time care."
On Wednesday, Nithyananda, who was upset at his parents worrying about his elder brother, left home threatening to commit suicide. When he did not return the following morning, Babu Gowda fearing the worst entered into a suicide pact with his wife and son. It appears that Nithyananda too killed himself later on returning home after seeing his parents and brother dead.
Later police traced the only surviving son Dayananda to do the final rites of his parents and brothers.
Chief Minister Siddaramiah, who was in Mangaluru, called the incident unfortunate and promised to provide more facilities to the endosulfan-affected families.