Man dies, 2 kids battle for life after drinking pesticide
Dejected over unemployment due to the lockdown, a man mixed pesticide in soft drinks and gave it to his two children, one of whom is mentally challenged, and wife before consuming it himself in Guduvanchery. While he died, the children have been admitted to a hospital.
Chennai
TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CONTENT MAY CAUSE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
The deceased, Santhoshkumar (58), was a native of Kerala and worked as a daily wage labourer in the city. He lived with his wife Sumathi (45) and two children Sivanidhi (12) and Charandas (9). Sivanidhi is said to be mentally challenged.
Santhoshkumar, who struggled to manage his family expenses without regular work for over five months now, decided to kill himself and his family.
On Monday evening, Santhoshkumar took the kids to a nearby shop to buy soft drinks and mixed it with pesticide. After reaching home, he gave the drinks to his kids before he consumed it. Later, he gave the bottle to his wife Sumathi to drink it. On suspicion, she questioned him why he suddenly bought cold drinks. To her shock, the two children, who consumed it, collapsed on the floor.
After she raised an alarm, neighbours rushed all three to a private hospital in Potheri. While Santhoshkumar died without responding to treatment, Sivanidhi and Charandas have been shifted to the Institute of Child Health in Egmore. They are under medical supervision. On information, the Guduvanchery police have registered a case and further investigation is on.
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