A four-year-old boy died and his mother was critically injured when the latter allegedly attempted suicide by jumping off the balcony of an apartment at Kongareddipalle here on Thursday evening.
According to sources, Sumathi (30) was married to Hari, who worked in the engineering department of Chittoor Municipal Corporation. The couple had a four-year-old son. Ten months ago, Hari died owing to health complications. Subsequently, Sumathi received financial benefits from the corporation and was assured an appointment on compassionate grounds.
Police claimed that the neighbours told them that Sumathi’s mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law were envious of her getting the benefits and used to harass her for a share of the financial benefits. They also put pressure on her not to take up the job. A couple of days ago, the brother-in-law allegedly assaulted Sumathi in front of officials of the corporation. This could be the reason why Sumathi took the extreme step.