Convict on parole found hanging with minor son

 Unable to bear frequent separation from his son, a murder convict, who was out on parole, committed suicide by hanging with his boy on Sunday morning.

The deceased are Sridhar Kumar (40) and Sri Vishnu (13), residents of Shettihalli in Bagalgunte, Bengaluru North.

The court had convicted Kumar for murdering a relative about 10 years ago, and had come out on parole three days ago. He was married to Savithri (35) and has a daughter Usha (13), besides a son, said the police.

Kumar used to be a small-time private financier in Ramamurthy Nagar. He had lent money to his relative, who had delayed repayment of the loan. A fight broke out between the two, and Kumar slit his relative’s throat. He was arrested and convicted.

Kumar was the sole breadwinner of his family. Due to frequent visits to the police station and a legal battle, he landed in a financial crisis. He was forced to sell his house in Ramamurthy Nagar to tide over the crisis. He then decided to shift his family to Shettihalli where Savithri’s parents live, and found a rented house there.

He would spend time with his family whenever he came out on parole and return to prison, police said.

On Saturday night, he asked Savithri to stay with her father who was unwell. She called Kumar at 7 am the following day, asking him to come for breakfast. He told her that he would be there soon. There was no response when she repeatedly called him around 9 am. She went to the house and knocked several times, but to no avail. With the help of neighbours she broke open the door and saw the bodies of her husband and son hanging from a ceiling fan, police said.

In a statement, she told the police that Kumar and Vishnu were attached to each other. Vishnu would often beg his father to stay back whenever he came home during parole.
Kumar often told her that it was difficult to live without his son. The two might have taken the extreme step as they could no longer bear the separation, Savithri said.

According to the police, there was no death note. The bodies were handed over to the family after a postmortem at Sapthagiri Hospital.