Kerala couple found dead at home with hands tied using tape, suicide suspected

A man and his wife were found dead in their rented home near Erattupetta in Kerala’s Kottaya, district on Monday morning, in what police suspect may be a case of suicide.

The deceased have been identified as Rashmi, aged 35, a nursing superintendent at a private hospital, and her husband Vishnu, aged 36, who worked as a contract labourer, police said.

The couple had been residing in a rented house in Panayappalam for the past six months.

The incident came to light after Vishnu’s mother was unable to reach the couple by phone. Following enquiries by neighbours, both were found dead inside the house, with their hands tied using what appeared to be medical adhesive tape.

Police said the bodies of Vishnu and Rashmi were discovered lying close together.

While preliminary observations point towards suicide, police have confirmed that an investigation is underway to establish the exact cause of death.

In a similar incident, a family of four, including two young children, were found dead at their home in Upputhara, a high-range village in Kerala’s Idukki district, on April 10.

According to the police, the bodies were discovered hanging in the living room, after neighbours raised the alarm when they hadn’t seen or heard from the family in some time. Officers identified the deceased as Sajeev Mohanan, aged 34, his wife Reshma, aged 30, and their two children — a six-year-old boy in Class 1 and a four-year-old girl. Neighbours told police that Sajeev, an auto-rickshaw driver from Pattathambalam in Upputhara, had been struggling with financial problems.

The police suspect the parents may have taken the children's lives before ending their own.

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