Man, wife commit suicide

Tirupur: A 62-year-old man and his wife committed suicide by setting themselves on fire near Kangeyam in Tirupur district on Monday. Their eight-year-old grandson sustained burn injuries.
Police identified the deceased as S Thangamuthu and Valliyammal, 57. Thangamuthu, who worked as an assistant to a village administrative officer at Sivanmalai, retired two years ago.

The couple’s son, Chandrasekar, died of kidney failure six months ago. His wife Priya had deserted him and their son two years ago as his illness had restrained him from work, a police officer said.

“Thangamuthu and Valliyammal were depressed after their son’s death. Thangamuthu was suffering from diabetes too. On Monday morning, the couple woke up their grandson and made him stand outside the house. Later, they doused themselves with kerosene and set themselves on fire. The kid ran to them after seeing this and sustained injuries,” the officer said.

Neighbours rushed the couple to the Kangeyam Government Hospital where they were declared brought dead. The boy was admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. The Kangeyam police have registered a case and investigations are on.