KOCHI, March 13: Four of a family of five committed suicide today at Chittoor, near here, while one of the five is recovering from a forced attempt by her mother to include her in the suicide pact. The provocation is believed to be a property dispute between two brothers.George Dixon, 45, his wife Sheela, 40, children Sharmily, 16, and Jitin, 12, died after they reportedly consumed poison mixed in milk. According to Subjnan, 14, who is currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital here, her mother poured the poisoned milk into her mouth as she lay asleep at 7 am. The bitterness of the liquid forced her to spew it out and she woke up, only to see her mother staggering and falling unconscious.
She then ran to the house of Antony, her father's cousin. He came back with Subjnan only to find four of his kin lying dead. ``I immediately took Subjnan and two of the dead to the hospital. Then I rushed back and brought the other two,'' Antony said. ``All the four were brought dead to the hospital. Subjnanis recovering and is still in shock. She does not know that all her dear ones are dead,'' said a doctor attending on her.
Subjnan is conscious now and she keeps asking for her parents and sisters. ``Where are my parents, my sisters?,'' she asks in subdued tones as she watches her grandmother, Annamma, sobbing quietly in a corner. Asked why the family committed suicide, Annamma replied, ``The brothers were always fighting over property.''
According to Antony, George's elder brother Victor had been asking for his share of the property after their father died in 1985. He even filed a partition suit in the court. The court, in keeping with the new law, gave one-third of the property to Annamma and two-thirds to the two brothers. The court even surveyed the property and marked out boundaries of the properties of the two brothers.
Later, Annamma who was staying with George, gave her share of the property to him. This made Victor resentful. When George tried to sell off his property, Victor brought a stay onit. As a result, George lost around Rs 30 lakh. Antony says, ``George had no job. He ran a shop for some time but Victor saw to it that even that was closed down. After that the family was surviving on the earnings of Sheela, who was running a tailoring shop.
George was very frustrated after that and though I tried to give him courage, nothing helped in the end.''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
