Kasaragod: Less than two weeks after a family of four ended their lives in Kasaragod’s Kodom-Belur panchayat, another family, a Health Department official and his three young children, came close to a similar tragedy. A quick-thinking wife and the swift intervention of police in Kannur and Kasaragod saved them in the nick of time.

On Tuesday afternoon, the official, a native of Kudiyanmala near Taliparamba, took his children — two boys, aged 11 and 9, and a six-year-old daughter — out of school under the pretext of showing them Bekal Fort. From the fort, the official employed in Kannur district made a video call to his wife, who works in Israel, and threatened to jump into the sea with the children.
Alarmed, the wife immediately contacted Kudiyanmala Police, who relayed the information to Bekal Police. "We contacted the Cyber Cell and triangulated him to Red Moon Beach near Bekal Fort. We found him in an isolated spot with the children," said Bekal Station House Officer Inspector M V Sreedas. The search was carried out by Tourism Police ASI M M Sunilkumar, with officers Vijesh and Regin.

An officer at Kudiyanmala Police Station confirmed that the wife’s urgent call set the rescue in motion. "After being rescued, the man told us he was joking with his wife. We do not know what transpired between them, but her quick response prevented a tragedy," said the officer.
The family's car was later found parked near Bekal Fort. Relatives who reached the spot after being informed took the man and his children home.