The Thiruvananthapuram Rural police have concluded the deaths of five members of a family in Kallambalam a day ago were due to suicide.
Financial stress had driven the family to take the extreme step, the police found in its investigation. Manikuttan, 54, who used to run an eatery on lease, his wife Sandhya, 37, their son Ajish, 15, daughter Ameya, 13, and Manikuttan’s bedridden mother’s sister Devaki, 78, were found dead in their house in Chathanpara early Saturday.
Manikuttan allegedly ensured the deaths of the others by consumption of poison before hanging himself, the police said. According to the police, Manikuttan had ventured into various business endeavours that led to losses. He had been unable to benefit through a mango farm in Tamil Nadu that he had taken on lease for ₹12 lakh. He could not transport the mangoes harvested in the farm due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
