Elderly couple ends lives by consuming poison after settling debts

Kannamma (70) of Bhoomi Kottai village, who retired a decade ago from Pulicat panchayat office where she worked as a lower level staff, had been engaged by the panchayat officials as a conservancy worker on daily-wage basis. Her husband Gopal was bedridden due to his medical condition. Without any income because of the lockdown, the couple was struggling to make ends meet and was forced to borrow money from neighbours.

On Friday, Kannamma received her two months’ salary of Rs 7,400 from the panchayat office on Friday. She handed over the money to the people from whom she had borrowed cash. On Saturday morning, the neighbours found the couple lying unconscious. Based on their alert, an ambulance rushed to the village, but Kannamma was declared dead. The ambulance crew rushed Gopal to the Pulicat government hospital, but he too was declared brought dead Tirupalaivanam police have registered a case and further investigation is on. Though the couple had children, the neighbours do not know about their whereabouts, officials said.