KOCHI: A couple died in a suspected suicide incident in Angamaly on Saturday. Their two sons suffered burns in the blaze that engulfed their house and the younger one later succumbed to injuries in hospital. The deceased are Sanal, 39, of Puliyanam near Angamaly, his wife, Sumi, 37, and son Aasthik aged 4.
Their 11-year-old son Ashwanth suffered burns and was treated in a hospital. Police officials said that he was discharged by night. The incident came to light around 12 am when people noticed a fire at Sanal’s residence. People soon launched a rescue operation and shifted Aasthik and Ashwanth to the hospital. Aasthik, who suffered 95 per cent burns died at night. The charred body of Sumi was found in a bedroom of the house while the body of Sanal was found hanging from the roof of the living room.
Police have also recovered a suicide note from the house. According to the police, Sanal was facing severe financial issues and had been suffering from depression in recent days. The neighbours told the police that there were frequent fights between the couple. Police suspect that after seeing Sanal dead, Sumi also decided to end her life. For this, she turned on the LPG cylinder and lit the fire.
The couple was running a facilitation centre for processing online applications for government-related services. The financial issues in business forced them to take their lives. Sanal was also an active worker of a political party in the area.
Angamaly police registered a case and started a probe into the incident. The bodies of Sanal and Sumi were handed over to relatives after postmortem. The body of Aasthik will be handed over to relatives after postmortem on Sunday.
(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.)