In a shocking incident here, a 35-year-old woman committed suicide by consuming yellow cow dung powder (Auramine O) after feeding the same to two of her children here on Wednesday.
While the woman died an hour after being admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), the children were being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.
Vennila (35), a resident of Kamarajapuram near R S Puram, was in a depressed mood after her husband Murthy’s death 16 days ago.
According to neighbours, Vennila, unable to bear the grief, on the 16 day of her husband’s death, consumed the banned chemical powder dye and fed it to two of her children, Abitha (10) and Durga Devi (8).
Neighbours, who saw Durga Devi vomiting on Wednesday morning, went inside the house and were shocked to find Vennila and Abitha lying unconscious.
They rushed the woman and her children to the CMCH. Vennila died after an hour at the hospital.
Meanwhile the two children were admitted to the ICU.
Though police had arrested some traders for selling the banned powder recently, the sale of the substance has gone up here in view of the Navarathri festival.