In a gruesome incident, a six-year-old and his father were burnt to death in a self-immolation attempt by the latter. The police said the man hailing from Tamil Nadu committed the act following a dispute with his wife.
The deceased were Sreedeva Sarma, 45, of Pathukani, in Kanyakumari, and his son Anandapadmanabha Sarma. The youth had doubts over the chastity of his second wife Ajithakumari and quarrels were common in the family. The youth was a temple priest by profession and they were reisidng at Pathukani, the police said. On November 10, Ajithakumari left home following a quarrel and reached her sister’s residence at Kochuvayalmukku, Kuttamala in Amboori. She later secured a job at a textiles shop in Kottayam with the help of the sister’s husband.
On Saturday morning, Sreedeva Sarma, along with his son, reached the sister’s residence. Presuming his wife was inside the house he tied his son and himself to a tree behind the house and set himself and his son on fire after pouring kerosene.
Though the locals rushed to help seeing the blaze, the child died on the spot. Though Sreedeva Sarma was rushed to the MCH he succumbed to the injuries around 10.30 p.m.