Ponkunnam: A family of four, including two young girls, was found dead at their home here.
Ponnamma, 65, widow of late Sivan Pillai of Kunnel Moozhimel in Thannuveli, her daughter-in-law Deepthi alias Manu, 32, and children Gauri Nandana, 10, and Gadha Nandana, 5, were found dead on Wednesday.
Deepthi, who used to work as an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), was holding a syringe in her hand as she lay dead. The preliminary assumption is that the family may have committed suicide injecting poison.
Deepthi had also worked as a collection agent for some companies. The family reportedly was facing financial difficulties and creditors had created a ruckus at the home the day the deaths happened.
Biju works in a shop at Palai and had gone to work in the morning as usual. He called home several times in the evening, but there was no answer. A panicked Biju called neighbours who then went to his house, only to find the four bodies.
Gadha Nandana, who showed signs of life when the bodies were discovered, was rushed to a hospital, but could not be saved. The police have shifted the bodies to Kottayam Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
