TIRUCHY: Four members of a family were found dead in a suspected suicide at Yatri Nivas, a pilgrim accommodation run by the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, on Friday.
The deceased were identified as S Swaminathan (67), his wife S Shenbagavalli (65), and their daughters Bhavani (42) and Jeeva (37), residents of Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district.
According to police, the family checked into Room No 710 on December 10 with a booking till December 14, and later sought permission to extend their stay by two more days. The guest house staff became suspicious when the family did not vacate the room even after the extended stay.
On Friday, caretakers noticed foul smell emanating from their room. They forced open the door and found all four dead. Upon information, Srirangam police sent the bodies to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital for autopsy and registered a case.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that both daughters of the couple were intellectually disabled, and the elder daughter, Bhavani, was a divorcee. Police said the elderly couple had left a note stating they were distressed about their advancing age and were worried about who would take care of their daughters after them.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)