Father poisons 3 children, then dies by suicide in Andhra Pradesh

A35-year-old adult male allegedly poisoned his leash venial children to demise and so died by suicide at his residence in Andhra Pradesh’s Nandyal district in the early hours of Thursday, police said.The victim was a construction labourer at Tudumuladinne village of Uyyalawada mandal (block).“The tragic incident came to light on Thursday morning when the deceased’s mother, came to their residence to spend time with her grandchildren on the New Year Day,” Uyyalawada sub-inspector of police P Rami Reddy told reporters.While the deceased’s body was found hanging to the ceiling fan of his bedroom, the bodies of his two daughters – aged seven years and four years – and a son aged two years were lying on the bed, he said.According to the SI, the man was married eight years ago to a 32-year-old woman of Ramapuram village in Kolimigundla mandal.“She had been suffering from health-related issues for some time and died by suicide on August 16. Since his wife’s death, he was reportedly under severe mental stress and emotional distress,” he said.Preliminary inquiries by the police revealed that on Wednesday night, the man spoke to several friends over the phone till midnight, conveying New Year greetings.“His call data records indicate that he had made his last phone call at around 1 am,” the SI said.Investigations revealed that the deceased allegedly mixed poison in milk and gave it to his youngest child and cold drink laced with poison to the two daughters.“All three children seem to have died within a short time. Later, he allegedly died by suicide by hanging himself to the ceiling fan,” the police officer said.The deceased’s mother arrived at the house to check on the children.“When there was no response to repeated knocks, she peered inside through a gap and found her son and the three children lying motionless. She immediately alerted us and we rushed to the spot,” Rami Reddy said.Preliminary inquiries revealed that the deceased had been struggling with psychological distress following his wife’s death. Police suspect that financial difficulties and the burden of raising three children alone may have driven him to take the extreme step. However, the exact motive is yet to be established.“A case has been registered and further details would emerge during the investigation. The bodies were shifted to the Allagadda Government Hospital for post-mortem examination,” the SI added.Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).