Thiruvananthapuram: In a shocking development, two family suicides on a single day took the lives of eight people in Kerala.
The incidents happened on Sunday, at Palakkad in north Kerala, and in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram in the south.
At Kuzhalmannam near Palakkad, a couple and their twin daughters were found dead late on Sunday night. The deceased were identified as Nelliamparambu Balakrishnan (60), his wife Radhamani (53) and their 20-year-old daughters Darsana and Drisya.
Balakrishnan was a painter and had not been going to work for the past few days. All the four were found hanging in a room adjacent to the house. Police suspect a family feud may have led to the deaths.
The tragedy came to light only when the couple’s son came home. Darsana was a nursing student and Drisya was an undergraduate student at a nearby private college.
In the second incident, a family of four was found dead at their home in Thonnakkal near Thiruvananthapuram. The deceased were identified as Sreekumar (40), his wife Subha (34), daughter Vaiga (6) and son Dhyan Vinayak (1).
Sreekumar had a temporary job. He was found hanging in the bedroom and the others were found dead on the cot. Neighbours had not seen Sreekumar and family members since Saturday. When neighbours saw light in Sreekumar’s house late in the night they tried to contact him on the mobile phone.
When the calls went unattended, they informed the police, who went over to the house and with the help of the family’s relatives broke the window glasses and found the family members dead.
