COIMBATORE: A couple in Namakkal district was plunged into grief after their newborn twins, a boy and a girl, were found dead at their home on Tuesday (September 22), less than three weeks after their birth, prompting police and health officials to launch an investigation.

Police said Annalakshmi, a resident of Avarangadu near Pallipalayam, had given birth to the twins at the Erode Government Headquarters Hospital on September 3. The couple already have a daughter.

After completing postnatal treatment, Annalakshmi returned home with the newborns on September 16. The tragedy came to light on Tuesday afternoon when she picked up the babies from their cradle to feed them.

To her shock, both infants were found unresponsive. The parents immediately rushed them to the Erode Government Headquarters Hospital, where doctors examined the babies and declared that they had already died.

The Pallipalayam police subsequently registered a case and began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The bodies of the two infants have been sent to the Government Medical College Hospital in Perundurai for a post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death.

“Only a post mortem report will shed light on the mystery shrouded death of the two newborns. Further action will be initiated based on the findings,” said a cop. Health department officials have also initiated a separate inquiry into the incident.