Family suicide in Payyannur: ‘He killed his children the day he lost their custody’

Kannur: When Kannan, an autorickshaw driver in his mid-sixties, returned home at Central Ramanthali around 6.30 pm, he found the door locked and a handwritten note placed on the grandfather's recliner chair in the sit-out.

After reading it, he did not open the door. Instead, he went straight to the Payyannur police station, 7km away. He returned with the police. When they forced open the door, he saw what he had already feared.

Inside lay the bodies of his wife, Usha (60), son K T Kaladharan (38), and Kaladharan’s children -- five-year-old daughter Hima and his two-year-old son.

“We celebrated the boy’s second birthday only a few days ago. We called him Kannan, but he had not yet been formally named because of family issues,” said Mahita Mohan, a Youth Congress leader and Kaladharan’s cousin.

Payyannur police suspect that Kaladharan killed his children and then died by suicide, along with his mother. Relatives said it did not surprise them that his mother was involved, given how close they were.

Kaladharan had been locked in a bitter custody dispute with his wife, Nayanthara, which was before the family court. The couple had been living separately, though Kaladharan would occasionally bring the children home for a few days. “He killed his children the day the court gave their custody to the mother,” said P P Narayani (65), a neighbour and former panchayat member.

Calling it an avoidable tragedy, Narayani said better awareness of mental health, especially depression after childbirth, and closer attention to family distress might have prevented it. Kaladharan, though only in his 30s, was a much-sought-after event caterer in Ramanthali. “His calendar was booked till January 17. There was a wedding today. He had finished all the arrangements before returning home,” said Mahita.

After completing a hotel management course and spending a brief stint working in a Gulf restaurant, Kaladharan returned to his village and built a thriving catering business. For over a decade, he had been the chief caterer for the annual feast, serving nearly 8,000 devotees at the Sree Thavuriyadu Temple during the Theyyam festival. This year’s festival is scheduled for January 29, and he had already been assigned the work, Narayani said. He and Nayanthara, a native of Anoor near Payyannur, got married around six years ago. He built a house when he was in his early 30s. “Money was not an issue,” Narayani said.

However, after the birth of their first child, strains emerged in the marriage. His parents living with them added to the stress, said neighbours. The relationship grew increasingly acrimonious, with Nayanthara pressing charges against her father-in-law. The couple eventually started living separately.

After a couple of years and several reconciliation attempts later, the couple got together. But tensions resurfaced after the birth of their second child. Mahita said Nayanthara never sought medical help and was never formally diagnosed with any mental health condition.

As the custody case progressed, Kaladharan’s distress appeared to deepen. “Initially, he said he would accept whatever made the children happy. But later, he openly said he would kill the children and himself if he lost custody,” Mahita said. Those words were not taken seriously.