Diabetic tailor shuns treatment, dies; wife, mother commit suicide

BENGALURU: The

decomposed bodies

of a

tailor

, his wife and mother were found in their rental house at Muthyalanagar near Yeshwantpur, northwest Bengaluru, on Saturday night.


Police said the tailor,

Sheshapani

, 44, died of illness, while the other two — his wife Usha Nandini (42) and mother Lakshmidevi (65) — committed suicide by hanging themselves inside the house.

Police quoted relatives as saying the family never mingled with others and shunned treatment for Sheshapani’s diabetes. Sheshapani and Nandini believed they were often possessed by divine spirits and hoped god would take care of the tailor’s illness.

The incident came to light when neighbours complained of foul smell from the tailor’s house and called the police control room.

Jurisdictional Yeshwantpur police rushed to the spot and found the house locked from inside. They broke it open and found Sheshapani lying dead in the bedroom, Nandini was hanging in the bedroom and Lakshmidevi hanging in the hall.

Police suspect Sheshapani could have died due to diabetes-induced health complications, while his wife and mother might have taken the extreme step due to their inability to cope with the grief.

Chethan Singh Rathor, deputy commissioner of police (north division) said, “We are waiting for the postmortem report to rule out chances of him consuming poison.” Rathor said the deaths appear to have happened at least four to five days ago. “We have not found any suicide note in the house. But their relatives said Sheshapani’s legs and hands would swell up sometimes and he was suffering from chronic diabetes. The family members, however, ignored relatives’ suggestion to consult doctors, believing god would save them,” a police officer said.

Preliminary investigation also revealed Sheshapani and Nandini were suffering from depression as they did not have children.

Suresh Babu, brother-inlaw of Nandini, said the family preferred to stay away from relatives. “Whenever we visited them, we’d suggest they get Sheshapani treated at a hospital. But they preferred to visit temples and avoided treatment. He could have died due to lack of medical care. The wife and mother might have decided to kill themselves, considering the difficulties they’d face without him,” said Babu.

Shiva Kumar, another relative, said the family would avoiding not only relatives but also neighbours.

Police have registered a case of unnatural death based on a complaint filed by Suresh Babu and probe is on.