Couple attempts suicide after killing woman’s 2-yr-old daughter; they survive

The two-year-old died while the woman and her partner are in critical condition.

A 29-year-old woman, her two-year-old daughter, and her partner consumed pesticide at a lodge in Panvel on Saturday. The two-year-old died while the woman and her partner are in critical condition. Panvel city police suspect the three consumed pesticide as part of a murder-suicide pact. The couple is accused of murder in Kerala and was absconding. While Panvel city police have filed an accidental death report, they may register a murder case, sources said.

The couple is accused of murder in Kerala and was absconding. (Getty Images/iStockphoto representative Image)

Liji Kurien and her daughter Joanna and Vashim Abdul Kadir, 35 checked into a lodge in Panvel a few days ago. On Saturday, around 1.15 pm, the staff at the lodge entered their room using a spare key when calls to the room went unanswered. Inside, the staff found the three unconscious. The three were rushed to Panvel Hospital where the child was declared dead. Kurien and Kadir were sent to Sir JJ Hospital and are yet to regain consciousness.

“We found a bottle of pesticide with a tag ‘Lethal’ from the room. Based on their identity documents, we informed the Kerala police and learnt they were on the run from an ongoing murder investigation,” said Ajaykumar Landge, senior inspector, Panvel city police station.

According to the police in Kerala, Kurien and Kadir worked at the same resort in Idukki. Kurien and Rijosh had been married for over a decade and around three years ago, she and Kadir became romantically involved. Kadir was also friends with Rijosh. In October, Rijosh found out Kurien was having an extramarital affair. The police don’t think Rijosh was aware that she was in a relationship with Kadir.

On November 1, Kurien filed a missing person complaint about Rijosh. The police later learnt that the last call that Kurien had allegedly received from Rijosh on October 31 was actually Kadir’s brother calling her using Rijosh’s phone. Kadir’s brother has since been arrested.

On November 5, Kurien and Kadir fled with Joanna and came to Panvel, raising the police’s suspicion that she was involved in Rijosh’s murder. Two days later, the police found Rijosh’s body in the resort where Kurien and Kadir worked. An officer from Santhanpara police station told HT that Kadir allegedly called Rijosh to the resort on October 31 and strangled him to death after getting him drunk. The police believe Kadir buried the body in the resort’s backyard.

“Our investigation revealed Rijosh was killed over the extramarital affair. We have sent our team to Mumbai to take custody of Kurien and Kadir,” said deputy superintendent M Rameshkumar, from Munnar.