While the city was celebrating the festival of peace and hope on Tuesday, an alcohol-fuelled family feud prompted a goldsmith and his wife residing in Saibaba Colony to end their lives by consuming cyanide.
The Saibaba Colony police recovered the bodies of D Nandakumar (39) and his wife Akilandeswari (33), who committed suicide at 10.30 am after a bitter quarrel.
Police said, Nandakumar was struggling to get off his addiction on alcohol, which led to frequent discords between the couple. The family was also facing a financial crisis.
“Recently, he had stopped consuming alcohol as he was planning to go to the Sabarimala temple. However, he again came drunk on Tuesday morning, which triggered a quarrel with his wife,” police said.
The couple’s two children, who were witnessing the fight between their parents, sensed trouble and rushed to their grandfather’s house to seek his intervention. However, by the time relatives arrived, the couple had already consumed poison and died.
On information Saibaba Colony police reached the spot and held an inquiry with the family members.
The bodies were sent to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem. Further inquiry is on.