Eight days after ‘wedding’, Kerala couple, woman’s three children found dead

The children were found hanging from a staircase, while the couple was seen hanging from ceiling fans.

Shaji, who had a wife and two children, is said to have married Sreeja on 16 May.

The police said they were unaware of the marriage. “Sreeja was living with her lover. Now it is said that they got married but we are unaware of the details. But Sunil, Sreeja’s husband, said the house belonged to him,” Cherupuzha Station House Officer (SHO) Shaji MP told South First.

The incident came to light after their neighbours checked on them after the house remained closed on Wednesday. They alerted the police.

The police said the incident occurred on the intervening night of 23 and 24 May.

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Family issues suspected

“We understand there were some family issues. I am now at the Pariyaram Medical College to complete the inquest procedures. We cannot confirm whether the deaths were suicide or not till we get the postmortem reports,” the SHO said.

The officer further said Sunil had complained on Monday, 22 May, that Sreeja and Shaji were illegally occupying his house. The SHO said the police visited the house and tried to de-escalate the issue.

“We could not evict the woman and three kids immediately. We asked all the parties concerned to come to the police station this week to resolve the matter,” the officer added.

Incidentally, Sreeja had told Sunil that she would commit suicide. However, the police came to know of it only after the tragedy.

(With PTI inputs)

(Suicide prevention helplines in Kerala: 1056, 0471-2552056).