There are some people who spread a lot of cheer with just their presence. Parthiban (38) was one of them, says his cousin Saravanan. “The way he used to play with his kids on the street, where he had been living for the past two years, would have even made many jealous,” Saravanan notes.
Parthiban’s mother Chandra told Express that she visited her son around 8 pm on the day he committed suicide after poisoning his children. “I saw him unwrapping a packet of chicken fried rice for the kids. He was so normal. But his elder daughter Pavithra told me that her father and the younger one, Sandhya, were crying. I asked him why. I also asked him why he did not bring his wife back when he had brought the kids along. But, he dodged the questions. By 9.15 pm, he asked me to go to my younger son Srinivasan’s house, which is three streets away, to take my medication. When I was leaving, the younger one asked me to come over on Friday morning to set her hair and deck her up for the weekend,” Chandra recalls.
On Srinivasan’s advice, Chandra returned to spend the night at Parthiban’s house since the children were alone with him, only to find that her son had committed suicide.
Parthiban, who was in a seven-year-long marriage with Kavitha alias Malarvizhi, had opted out of the family business of hair styling and was working in a lorry booking office, sources known to the family told Express. Since his earnings were very low, Srinivasan even advised his brother to join the parlour where he was working, they added.
Six months ago, the family had set up a saloon for him, but he had to close shop following a misunderstanding with the landlord. Ever since, Parthiban was feeling low. His wife too repeatedly pestered him to open another saloon, sources added.