KAKINADA: In a shocking incident, a 37-year-old ONGC employee allegedly killed his two minor sons over their ‘poor academic performance’, and died by suicide in Kakinada city. The incident took place at Jai Devi Nilayam Apartment, Thota Subbarao Nagar Road No. 2, Ramanayyapet on Saturday, according to Sarpavaram Sub-Inspector Srinivas Kumar.
The deceased, Vanapalli Chandra Kishore, was working in the Finance Department of ONGC. He was living with his wife Tanuja, and sons Joshit Kishore (7), and Nikhil Kishore (6). On Friday, the family attended Holi celebrations at ONGC.
After spending time with his family, Kishore asked his wife to stay back, took his sons home, and asked them to take a bath. In a horrifying act, he tied their hands and legs, made them sit on his knees, and forcibly drowned them in buckets of water. Later, Kishore went into his bedroom, and hanged himself from the ceiling fan.
When Kishore failed to return, Tanuja repeatedly called him, but she did not get response. Concerned, she contacted their neighbours, and rushed home with her sister.
When she did not get response despite knocking on the door, she alerted the Sarpavaram police at 1 pm.
SI Srinivas Kumar and his team rushed to the flat, removed the window grills, and entered the flat, only to find the two children drowned in buckets, and Kishore hanging from the fan.
The bodies were sent to Kakinada Government Hospital for postmortem. A case was registered.
A distraught Tanuja revealed that her sons, studying in a private school, were struggling academically. She planned to enrol them in another school for better education. “He felt that they couldn’t cope with the competition, and took this extreme step,” she bemoaned.
The SI revealed that a suicide note was found at the scene. According to the note, Kishore killed his sons, fearing that they would not survive in the competitive world with their poor academics. The family was well-settled, and there were no disputes between the couple, the SI added.
(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.)