COIMBATORE: The youth who murdered a 16-year-old girl and her grandmother over unrequited love attempted suicide by consuming poisonous 'arali' seeds (Oleander seeds) in Pollachi.
K Abishek (24) stabbed B Kousika (16) of Kavundampalayam, her sister Haritha (18) and their grandmother M Mayilathal (65) on Monday. While Kousika and Mayilathal succumbed, Haritha is undergoing treatment in Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for stab injuries.
The police said Abishek of Kappalangarai had befriended the minor and subsequently developed a one-sided romantic interest in her. He went to her house with his parents to propose marriage. Kousika's family declined the proposal as she had not yet attained the legal age for marriage.
Meanwhile, on Monday night, Abishek met Kousika at the backyard of her house and pressured her to marry him. A quarrel ensued between them, and in a fit of fury, he took out a knife and stabbed her multiple times. On hearing her loud cries, Mayilathal and Haritha rushed out, but they too were attacked by the accused.
After the gruesome double murder, Abishek fled away from the scene, and a search was on by the police. Past midnight, he surrendered at the Negamam police station, where he soon collapsed and began frothing at the mouth. Inquiries revealed that he consumed the poisonous 'arali' seeds to end his life.
The police personnel took him to Pollachi Government Hospital, where he is under treatment. Further inquiries are under way.