TIRUNELVELI: A day after charred bodies of four members of a family were found inside a car near Thisayanvilai, post mortem examination of two of the four bodies revealed traces of poison in blood, strengthening police’s suspicion that it could be a case of death by suicide.
On Tuesday morning, a completely burnt car was found on the roadside between Pettaikulam and Athankarai Pallivasal. The Tirunelveli rural police on Wednesday said the victims were members of the same family from Nandambakkam in Chennai. They were identified as Mohammed Rafiq (45), his wife Syed Nasrin Fathima (36), and their two children, aged 15 and 12.
The family had visited Athankarai Pallivasal in the early hours and donated their clothes and belongings before leaving the place. During the postmortem at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, the bodies of Rafiq and his son were found to be completely charred, leaving no clear clues for the police.
However, examination of the bodies of Nasrin Fathima and her daughter revealed traces of poison. After completion of autopsy, the bodies were handed over to a relative at Alwarthirunagari in Thoothukudi district
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on the Tamil Nadu health department’s helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)