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Karnataka man celebrated dead wife’s birthday before killing children, self
The 46-year-old retired army personnel was grieving the death of his wife who died due to post-Covid complications
Hours before killing his four children and himself, an ex-serviceman celebrated the birthday of his late wife Jayashree with his children on Friday night, said police who are probing the suicide case.
The 46-year-old retired army personnel, grieving the death of his wife, allegedly killed his four children and died by suicide in Hukkeri Taluk of Karnataka’s Belagavi district, police said on Saturday.
According to the police, the man was suffering from depression since the death of his wife due to post-Covid black fungus on July 6 this year. Late on Friday, the 46-year-old is suspected to have consumed poison, along with his three daughters, aged 19, 16 and 11 years and a son (8), an official added.
According to police, after the celebrations, the man consumed water mixed with poison and gave the same to his children. During the investigation, police were able to recover a death note as well wherein he held himself responsible for the deaths. He also wrote that he was leaving ₹20,000 cash for the final rites.
On Saturday, neighbours alerted the police and the relatives after no one from the family could be reached. The victim’s cousin said she spoke with him around 9 pm on Friday. “He asked me if I had dinner and even said goodnight before going to bed. There were no indications that he was going to take such a step,” she added. “He and his children often used to tell us that they cannot live without his wife,” the relative told reporters.
Until now the state has reported 41 deaths due to Covid-19 depression, including five deaths that came to light on Saturday. The deaths have happened due to the fear of infection, losing dear ones and financial loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Udupi district in Karnataka tops the deaths related to Covid depression with 11 cases while Bengaluru is in the second position with 9 deaths.
In August, a couple was found dead at their residence in Baikampady near Mangaluru, allegedly fearing complications after showing symptoms of Covid-19.
