COIMBATORE: A Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) staff member and his wife, who was reportedly suffering from cancer, ended their lives after giving poison to their ten-year-old daughter in Coimbatore.

Police said Kamalesh (42), a junior engineer in TNEB, from Thambu Nagar in Perianaickenpalayam and his wife Ilakkiya (38), a nurse took the extreme step by consuming poison mixed food after giving it to their daughter Yakshitha Angel (10) on Sunday night.

Police said  Ilakkiya was suffering from acute pain due to breast cancer and couldn’t be cured despite treatment over the last few years. Depressed over her ailing health, she consumed the poison mixed food for dinner, while giving the same to their daughter.

Police said Kamalesh then sent out a WhatsApp video message informing of their extreme step. The relatives, who saw the shocking message on Monday morning, had rushed to their house and found the doors locked from the inside.

On receiving information, the Perianaickenpalayam police arrived and broke open the doors and sent the bodies of the trio for a post-mortem at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). A case has been registered, and further enquiries are under way.