Three members of family die by suicide near Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: A Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited employee, his wife, who was a cancer patient, and their daughter were found dead in their home near Periyanaickenpalayam in Coimbatore district on Sunday night. The deceased have been identified as B Kamalesh, 42, a junior engineer at the Kathirnaickenpalayam substation, his wife, C Ilakkiya, 38, a staff nurse at a private hospital, and their 10-year-old daughter, Ekshitha Angel, a Class V student. The family lived at Thambu Nagar near Periyanaickenpalayam. According to police, Ilakkiya was undergoing treatment for breast cancer at a private hospital in Coimbatore. During a recent consultation, doctors informed the family that cancer had spread to other parts of her body and her chances of survival were low. Police said Kamalesh was distressed by his wife’s condition. He allegedly bought cyanide and mixed it with a soft drink. All three consumed it. Police said Kamalesh had sent a video message to his relatives, friends and church members about their decision. The trio had died by the time their relatives and others reached there. The Periyanaickenpalayam police recovered the bodies and sent them to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for postmortem. A case has been registered, and an investigation was underway. In the video message sent to relatives and friends, Kamalesh said they were taking this step due to his wife’s health condition. He requested the police to send their bodies directly to the church burial ground without postmortem. He stated that he had transferred Rs 50,000 to the church account for funeral expenses. He said he had given his fixed deposit money to the CSI church where he was a member. He further requested Tamil Nadu chief minister to use the benefits from his job for the welfare of poor people in the state.