Tragic incident: Elderly man sets family on fire before taking his own life | Kochi News

Kottayam: A 77-year-old man hanged himself after setting fire to his bedridden wife and son who were sleeping in the Aryad Panchayat of. Alappuzha district on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Sreekantan Nair. His wife Omana, 74, and son Unni, 42, who suffered severe Burnswere admitted to Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. The incident took place around 4 am. Nair was a hotel employee until some time ago. Omana was bedridden due to infection of a wound on her leg.
According to relatives, Nair was constantly quarreling with his wife and children. Unni, a taxi driver, came home late at night. Early in the morning, Nair broke the window pane of the room where Unni was sleeping, poured petrol inside and set it on fire. He then poured petrol on the bed where his wife was sleeping and set it on fire too. Unni soon woke up, locked Nair in a room and tried to rescue his mother. The bedridden woman suffered 50% burns. Meanwhile, Nair killed himself by hanging from the ceiling fan.
The eldest son, who lives nearby, rushed to the house. The fire brigade put out the fire. Locals took Unni and his mother to the hospital. Nair's body was cremated in the evening.