COIMBATORE: A 45-year-old man allegedly shot his wife using a country-made gun near Sulur, Coimbatore district, then travelled to his farmhouse in Palakkad in Kerala where he died by suicide on Monday. The couple has two daughters, sources said.
According to Sulur police, Krishnakumar and his wife Sangeeta (42) lived in Pattanampudur. Krishnakumar had quit his job in Malaysia, while Sangeeta worked as a teacher in a private school.
The couple had been in conflict for the past two years, due to Krishnakumar suspecting Sangeeta of having an affair, police said. Six months ago, both of them began living separately, with Sangeeta in Pattanampudur and Krishnakumar at his farmhouse in Vadakancheri, Palakkad district, Kerala, they added.
On Monday morning, Krishnakumar had come to meet his daughters, according to police. Around 7.40 am, both his daughters left for school, following which an argument allegedly broke out between the husband and wife. Police said, as the back and forth got heated, Krishnakumar took out a country-made gun he had brought along and shot Sangeeta multiple times in the chest, killing her on the spot.
He then covered her body with a blanket, locked the house and left for his Vadakancheri farmhouse, where he died by suicide hours later, police added.
Neighbours found victim’s body in pool of blood, alerted police
Back in Pattanampudur, neighbours who heard the gunshots broke into the house to investigate and found Sangeeta’s body in a pool of blood. They then alerted Sulur police.
On receiving the information, Karumathampatti Sub-Inspector Thangaraman and Sulur Inspector Lenin Appadurai had arrived at the scene and sent Sangeeta’s body to the ESI hospital for postmortem examination.
Following this, when police contacted Krishnakumar on his mobile phone, the Kerala police spoke on the other end, informing them of his suicide and seizure of the country-made gun.
Sulur police have filed a case. Further probe is on.
(If in distress or having suicidal thoughts, call 104 for health department’s helpline that offers counselling or 044- 24640050 for Sneha suicide helpline.)