KALLAKURICHI: In a heart-wrenching incident that seems straight out of a Kollywood tragedy, police suspect a youth to have died by suicide, jumping into the funeral pyre of a woman he loved. According to sources at Thirunavalur police station, A Nithya (18) of Nannavaram village near Ulundurpet was a first-year nursing diploma student at a private college in Tiruchy.
On August 25, she consumed poison and died at the Stanley hospital in Chennai despite treatment. Her father Arumugam had informed police that she killed herself after a quarrel with him over using mobile phone. He said she regretted sharing the phone with her two younger sisters for online classes.
Meanwhile, Murugan of Mettathur village filed a complaint that his son Ramu (20) went missing on Monday evening. Murugan informed police that the boy’s friends had told him that he was seen roaming near the cremation ground at Nannavaram village.
Police began inquiries and on Wednesday, a team led by Ulundurpet DSP Vijayakumar inspected the cremation area and found burnt remains of a men’s wrist watch and mobile phone. Bone samples were retrieved and sent for lab tests. Ramu’s father then confirmed that the watch belonged to his son. While Murugan rejected the idea of his son being in love with a woman, friends told police that he did have a love affair with Nithya and that he was dejected on hearing the news of her suicide.
He was inconsolable and told them that he would “go with her body or bury himself,” police said. When police inquired with workers at cremation ground, they said that on Sunday night, as they were having dinner, they heard cries for help coming from the burning body and were gripped by fear. They fled the place and returned only the next morning. Police are conducting inquiries and waiting for a lab report to confirm if the remains found at the spot belonged to Ramu.