HYDERABAD: A 32-year-old woman who was upset by the financial distress her family was facing, strangled her son Tanvik (5) and daughter Shreya (3) to death, and then hanged herself from the ceiling fan in their house.
Swathi Kusuma and her husband Saikumar were software employees who lost their jobs during the Covid pandemic. Following that her husband started working in a call centre while she became a home-maker. She was upset that Saikumar wasn’t earning enough to support the family and that they could afford their children’s school fees.
A police official said Swathi scribbled a suicide note on the wall of the bedroom. “She wrote that she was being harassed by her husband and wasn’t assuming enough responsibility for the well-being of their children,” he said. The couple had a love marriage which ran into rough weather when their financial condition worsened. They also had frequent arguments because Swathi suspected him of having affairs. He would often insult her physical appearance.
On Friday night, Swathi and Saikumar had a fight after which Saikumar left the house in anger. When he returned home on Saturday evening, he found his two children lying dead in the bedroom and his wife hanging from the ceiling room. He ran to his neighbour’s house for help who informed the police.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES | Opinion: Covid, loss of jobs, Pegasus ... fear is in the air
CI Kanakiah said, “A case has been registered against the mother under IPC 302 while Saikumar has been charged under IPC 498 and 306 and has been taken into custody.”
(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 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)