Couple consume poison, found unconscious

A couple, who had allegedly ingested poison, were rescued in the nick of time from their house in Kaveripura, Kamakshipalya, where they were found unconscious on Monday night.

The couple have been identified as Siddalinga Swamy, 35, an auto driver, and his wife Manjula, 30. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where they are being treated in the intensive care unit.

Both are comatose and in critical condition, police said.

Police also found the highly decomposed body of the couple’s eight-month-old daughter Harshini at their house.

A senior police officer said that it was not clear whether the baby had died of natural causes or they fed poison to the infant and killed her.

He said a case of murder and attempt to suicide had been registered against the couple.

Swamy and Manjula lived in a rented house in Kaveripura. On Monday night, the other residents in the building alerted their landlord Anand Kumar about some foul smell emanating from the couple’s house. They also told him the couple were not responding to their calls.

Kumar alerted the Kamakshipalya police who rushed to the spot, broke open the door and found the couple lying unconscious. They also found the body of their baby in an advanced state of decay.

This is the second tragedy that struck the family this month.

Swamy and Manjula are natives of a village near Mysore. They have two daughters— Hamsini, 6, and Harshini, now found dead. Police said the couple lost their elder daughter Hamsini to a brief illness on January 6 in Mysore and they were yet to recover from the tragedy.

Labhu Ram, DCP (West), told Deccan Herald that from the scene of crime, it was clear that the baby girl had been dead for more than 48 hours.

He said this might have led the couple to attempt suicide. He said the body of the baby was shifted to Victoria Hospital and the autopsy report was expected to throw more light on the cause of her death.