Palakkad/Coimbatore: A 52-year-old man died by suicide on Monday morning after shooting himself in the chest with an air gun in front of his house in Vandazhy, Palakkad. Earlier that day, he had allegedly killed his wife in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, using the same weapon. The deceased have been identified as R Krishnakumar (52) and his wife, Sangeetha.

Krishnakumar, who had been staying at his parental home in Palakkad for the past week to care for his ailing mother, left for Coimbatore early in the morning, around 4 am. Upon reaching his house there, he waited for his children to leave for school before fatally shooting his wife, a private school teacher. He then drove back to Palakkad and arrived at his family home by 8:30 am, Kizhakkethara ward member Ramani Kesavankutty told Onmanorama.

His father, A K Sundaran, was preparing to visit the temple at the time and had arranged for a family friend, Shiva Dasan, to pick him up. However, when Sundaran saw Krishnakumar return with his car, he decided to accompany him instead. Meanwhile, Krishnakumar remained outside the gate, talking on the phone.

According to Chembode ward member M Sivadasan, Krishnakumar called his two younger sisters, who are married and living in Coimbatore, and asked them to return to Palakkad, falsely claiming that their father was unwell. After ending the call, he placed the phone inside the car, retrieved the gun, and shot himself. His siblings arrived in Palakkad shortly after, learning about Sangeetha’s murder only through the media.

Mangalam Dam police conducted the inquest, and Krishnakumar’s autopsy was performed at Palakkad District Hospital. His body was later taken home and cremated around 6:30 pm. “No members from his wife’s family attended the funeral, and it is believed that Sangeetha’s funeral will take place on Tuesday. She is survived by her mother and sister, while the whereabouts of the couple’s two daughters, who are in classes 12 and 8, remain uncertain, likely being with Sangeetha’s relatives,” member Ramani said.

“Krishnakumar was involved in the real estate business and came from a well-off family, with his father managing farmland in Palakkad. He had previously worked in Malaysia before settling in Coimbatore after his marriage to Sangeetha, who was a distant relative. He briefly returned to Malaysia after marriage but later came back,” Ramani added. Mangalam Dam police registered a case under Section 149 (death by suicide) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in connection with Krishnakumar's death.