Tiruchengode man dies of cardiac arrest, son dies by suicide

NAMAKKAL: A family in Tiruchengode lost two male members on Wednesday due to two different reasons. While the head of the family died of a cardiac arrest, his son died by suicide due to mounting debts, police said.

The deceased have been identified as T Govindan, 68, of Thondikaradu and his son G Balamurugan, 36.

Balamurugan, who was married, was running a medical store at Thondikaradu. He left home on Tuesday night after telling the family members that he was going to Palani Lord Murugan temple.

On Wednesday morning, Govindan suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at his residence and died. Family members and relatives tried to contact Balamurugan over the phone to inform him about his father’s death. But he did not pick up his call.

"We went to the store and found it locked from inside. We managed to enter the store and found him lying dead," said K Palanisamy, a relative.

On being informed, the Tiruchengode town police arrived at the scene and began investigations. The bodies were sent to Government Hospital in Tiruchengode for postmortem.

Govindan is survived by his wife Poongodi, 63, and daughter Keerthika, who is married. Balamurugan leaves behind his wife Tamilarasi, a seven-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter.

Police said Balamurugan had taken loans and invested in online trading and the stock market. But he was unable to repay the loans. "Mounting debts could be the reason for Balamurugan’s death," said an officer at the Tiruchengode town police station.

Postmortem report suggested that Balamurugan killed himself by consuming aluminum sulfate in his shop.

The police registered a case and began investigations.

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