BENGALURU: An 85-year-old man has died by suicide after killing his 77-year-old wife in the Sampigehalli police station limits on Monday. The deceased are identified as Shivanandan Prasad and his wife, Sumitra Devi. Sumitra was reportedly suffering from eye and ear-related issues while her husband was suffering from heart ailments.
“Prasad must have taken the extreme step not to be a burden to his son. We are checking if there are any other reasons associated with it,” said an officer. The couple, natives of Bihar, had come to their son Kiran Kumar Kashyap’s house a few days back in Bengaluru. Since both the victims had health issues, the octogenarian did not want to be a burden to his children and hence took the extreme step. He is said to have used a pillow to smother his wife and then died by hanging from the window grills using a lungi.
The incident came to light on Tuesday morning when Kashyap tried to wake them up. After getting no response, he broke the door open with a hammer and found his parents dead. Kashyap, who was an ex-serviceman, is presently working as a senior supervisor in a security agency, and was staying with his wife, daughter and son. Kashyap’s wife and son had gone out of station for a kin’s wedding.
On Monday night, around 9 pm, Kashyap had served dinner to his aged parents. Around 6 am on Tuesday, Kashyap tried to wake his parents. The bodies were shifted for the postmortem. The Sampigehalli police have registered a case of murder and unnatural death.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
