Odisha man kills Malayali wife, dies by suicide

KOCHI: An Odisha native murdered his wife, who was a Malayali, before committing suicide at Pinarmunda near Pallikkara in Ernakulam district late on Monday night. The deceased are Pinarmunda native Lija, 41, and husband Sajan alias Shukru, 40, who had been working as a daily wage labourer.

Lija and Sajan were married for 13 years following a love affair and have three children. They were living at Lija’s house with her parents till a few months ago.  The incident took place around 11.30pm on Sunday.
“Sajan was suspicious of Lija and their relationship strained. He had attacked her numerous times before and the fights became frequent.

A few months ago, he had attacked her with a knife and their 11-year-old elder daughter too got injured in the incident. After that, Sajan was living separately. He was an alcoholic. Lija, on the other hand, was quite active in the Kudumbashree unit here,” a police officer said.

On Sunday evening, Sajan returned to Lija’s house with a newly bought knife. A quarrel broke out between the couple when the children and parents of Lija were watching TV. He took her to the kitchen and slit her throat. 

The children found her mother lying in a pool of blood and called the neighbours who rushed her to the hospital.Sajan escaped from the place. “She breathed her last in the hospital. Soon after the incident, the police, with the help of residents, started searching for Sajan, who was found hanging in a tree at an isolated place near Lija’s house,” said the officer.

The bodies of the couple were shifted to the Kalamassery Medical College for autopsy after completing inquest procedure. It would be handed over to relatives on Wednesday.