Elderly couple commit suicide; blame son and his wife

An elderly couple committed suicide, one by consuming poison and the other by hanging, at their house in Girinagar on Saturday.

The couple, in a scribble, accused their son and daughter-in-law of harassment, police said.

Krishna Murthy, 70, was a retired Bharat Electronics Limited employee and his wife Swarna Murthy, 65, a housewife.

The son and daughter-in-law returned from work around 8 pm. As the door was locked from the inside, the son peeped through the window and saw his father hanging from the ceiling.

He called the police who arrived and broke open the door. Swarna Murthy was found on the bed. A bottle was recovered thought to be poison. They sent it for forensic examination. Police said the incident could have happened between 5.30 and 6 pm.

They suspect Krishnamurthy fed his wife poison before killing himself.

The scribble on the wall by a black marker said the son and daughter-in-law were responsible. However, kin of the son and wife defended them saying it was the elderly couple who were depressed. “The bedridden mother had spinal cord issues which drove them to suicide,” a senior police officer said.