KOCHI: A woman, who was constantly harassed by a neighbour, and her teenage son died of burns under suspicious circumstances at Nayarambalam in Vypeen island in Ernakulam district on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as Sindhu (42), wife of late Saju, and her son Atul (17).
Police suspect that Sindhu locked the house from the inside and set herself and her son ablaze on Sunday evening.
Finding smoke emanating from the house, the neighbours broke open the door and rushed the mother and son to Lourdes hospital in Ernakulam. Sindhu, who was a staff with the Lourdes Hospital, succumbed later. Her son Atul succumbed to his burns on Monday.
Meanwhile, the local people alleged that Sindhu was constantly harassed by a neighbour PT Dileep, who is a BJP cadre. Dileep also reportedly beat up Sindhu's brother Jojo.
Sindhu’s family has alleged that, while being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, she took the name of their neighbour as the person behind the incident. The deceased had lodged a complaint a few days ago alleging he had been teasing her for a while. Her relatives have produced a voice clip of her naming the person.
Sindhu had earlier lodged a complaint with the Njarackal police in this regard. But police booked Dileep under the bailable section and let him off on station bail.
Meanwhile, the relatives and local people alleged that it was a case of murder and not suicide. The CPI (M) mouthpiece Deshabhimani claimed that when the police summoned Dileep to the station he went accompanied by a local BJP leader and convinced the police to let him go.