Kochi: A man allegedly killed his wife and a year-and-a-half-old son by setting them ablaze at their house on the outskirts of the city before committing suicide during the wee hours of Sunday.
P Saji, 40, a hotel worker, poured kerosene or petrol over his wife Bindu, 29, and their toddler son Sreehari, who were sleeping on the floor of their house in Kalamassery, and set them on fire. Hearing the commotion, Bindu's mother Ananadavally, 55, rushed into the room and Saji set her on fire too. He then hanged himself in the bathroom.
The screams of Anandavally, who ran out of the house, alerted the neighbours and they informed the police.
The horrifying incident happened around 2am at the Pottachal Nagar near Cochin University in Kalamassery which in Kerala's Ernakulam district.
The cops found the charred bodies of Bindu and the child on the floor. Anandavally has been admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital. She has suffered more than 60 per cent burns and her condition is said to be critical.
It is suspected that Saji committed the heinous crime in an inebriated state. The police have received information that Saji and Bindu frequently had domestic squabbles.
Anandavally and Bindu are natives of Pattimattom in Ernakulam, while Saji was from Kollam. They had been living at the rented house in Kalamassery for more than a year.
The police have begun a probe into the incident.