BENGALURU: A middle-aged couple committed suicide by consuming poison at their house in Basaveshwaranagar in Bengaluru on Thursday night. The couple left a suicide note alleging that a family friend was blackmailing them.
The deceased, who have been identified as Mohan, 65, and his wife Nirmala, 54, hail from Tamil Nadu. They were settled in Manjunathanagar for several years. While Mohan was a retired employee of BEML, Nirmala was a housewife.
A senior police officer said the incident took place late in the night when the duo consumed toilet cleaner mixed with water. They were found dead on the first floor of their house by their son Kiran. As there was no response when he knocked, he alerted the neighbours. They helped him break open the door only to find the couple dead.
Kiran, a private company employee, lives on the ground floor of the two-storey house along with his wife.
Forensic experts collected the poison samples and the bodies were shifted to Victoria Hospital for the postmortem.
An investigation officer from Basaveshwarnagar police station said the police found a suicide note written in Tamil by Nirmala. In the note, she alleged that a family friend, Manohar, was having an affair with her. He started blackmailing the couple and his repeated harassment drove them to commit suicide, the note said.
Based on the suicide note, a case of abetment has been registered against Manohar who is still at large.
Police also have recorded the statement of the deceased couple's son as part of the investigation.
Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available at Karnataka health helpline 104 and Sahai suicide prevention number +91 080 25497777, 9886444075.