Elderly couple ends life at Corpn park in Ashok Nagar

The deceased persons were identified as Iruthaya Raj (61) and his wife Pushpa Mary (58) from Nagapattinam. They were working as contract staff of a private firm and maintaining the garden on 48th Street in Ashok Nagar for over a decade, said the police.

Around 5.30 am on Wednesday, residents of the locality who went to the park for their morning walk as usual were shocked to see the couple lying unconscious. While Pushpa was found dead with foam in the mouth inside a room in which they were staying inside the park, Iruthaya Raj was found lying on the ramp with bleeding ears.

Residents alerted the park supervisor, who in turn alerted the Ashok Nagar police. After the paramedics on board a 108 Ambulance vehicle confirmed that the couple was dead, the bodies were sent to the Omandurar Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.

After preliminary investigation, the police said that the couple consumed pesticide that was kept for the plants. “They went to Nagapattinam on December 20 to spend time with their only son Devendran and his family and returned to the city on December 27. The couple gave Rs 10,000 to their son during the visit. On December 31, they transferred Rs 2,500 from their bank account to Devendran. It could not be confirmed whether there was any quarrel between the family members,” said the police.

The couple had prepared dinner but didn’t eat it, said the investigation officer. Devendran has four children. The couple did not want to depend on their son and wanted to lead their life on their own, said the police quoting Devendran.

The Ashok Nagar police have registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC and handed over the bodies to his son after autopsy. Their viscera samples have been referred to the forensic lab for further analysis.