KOCHI: A 43-year-old man allegedly killed himself inside a furniture shop by setting himself on fire near Maradu on Tuesday. Prasannan, a native of Maradu, ended his life following financial issues with Suneer, the owner of the shop, police said.
The incident took place around 6 in the morning, and was noticed by local people, who informed the police and the fire and rescue officials. The furniture shop which functions on the ground floor of Suneer’s rented house, was completely gutted in fire. Prasannan is said to have set himself on fire by pouring gasoline on himself.
Meanwhile, a major tragedy was averted with the timely intervention of the fire and rescue and the police officials as Suneer’s wife and two children were trapped on the first floor of the house. “It was around 6 in the morning that thick fog and fire started coming from the ground floor.
Since we were sleeping, we coudn’t understand what was happening around us. We ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind us.Though we screamed, we couldn’t see anyone else near the premises. After that, I called my husband, who was at work early in the morning. It was only after the fire and rescue officials reached the spot that we escaped from the house through the window,” said Haseena, Suneer’s wife.
A four-wheeler and several new and used furniture items were completely damaged. It took nearly an hour for the fire officers from Tripunithura and Gandhi Nagar fire stations to bring the situation under control.
“As per the preliminary investigation, it is a case of suicide. So far, we haven’t found any other details that lead us to believe otherwise. But we need to investigate more,” said a police officer.