Two children, aged six and four years, died on Monday after their father allegedly attempted to end his life, that of his mother, and his three children at Kurishadi, Nalanchira, here.
The Mannanthala police said Rajesh, 35, his 55-year-old mother, and his three children, aged 10, six and four, including one girl, were found in an unconscious state around 9 a.m. on Monday morning at their house by relatives who came to check on them after phone calls went unanswered.
Door broken downRelatives and neighbours then broke open the door and rushed them to the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), from where the children were shifted to SAT Hospital.
The younger two had by then breathed their last, the police said. While Rajesh and his mother were undergoing treatment at the MCH, the eldest child was under treatment at SAT Hospital, where his condition was stated to be stable, they said.
H. Venkatesh, City Police Commissioner, said family dispute was suspected to have led to the alleged suicide attempt, with Rajesh reportedly giving ice cream laced with poison to the other four and consuming the same.
‘Strained relations’The nature of the dispute was made clear in a suicide note which the police had recovered from the house. The Mannanthala police had registered a case and were investigating, he said.
According to information from the police station, Rajesh had filed a missing person complaint with the Mannanthala police station on May 12, stating that his wife was missing.
The police traced her to Thrissur and produced her before a court here.
It was found that she had left her family to live with her paramour, with whom she was said to have a relationship for some time now, and the same had reportedly led to regular friction in the family.
She had been directed to appear before the court on May 29 for the rest of the proceedings in the case.
