CHENNAI: Pressured by the stress of repaying money borrowed by her late husband, a 26-year-old woman died by suicide along with her two young children near Padappai.
Shamsiya (26) and Asif (28) of Vallalar Nagar near Manimangalam resided with their children Ashifa (8) and Abdar (5). About a year and a half ago, Asif died by suicide under pressure to repay debts. This pressure fell on Shamsiya after his passing, and police said she was subjected to humiliation by lenders, leading to severe mental distress.
Reaching the tipping point, Shamsiya dressed her children in new clothes and bought them ice cream, cake and biscuits from a nearby bakery to spend some time with them on Thursday morning. Then, she took the children to a farmland near Madambakkam with an open well. She pushed her children and then jumped, after ensuring no one was watching them.
Later, two people noticed a handbag near the well and peeked in the well. On finding the bodies floating, they immediately alerted the police and fire services.
Fire and rescue personnel retrieved the bodies, and they were sent to Chengalpattu GH for post-mortem.
During the investigation, Padappai police recovered a handwritten note from Shamsiya's bag, where she stated that after her husband's death due to debt, she and her children had been suffering humiliation and had no one to support them. Unable to continue living under such distress, she decided to end her life. She also mentioned that she did not want her children to be left alone as orphans.
The Padappai police have registered a case, and further investigation is under way.