Daijiworld Media Network - Chamarajanagar (SP)

Chamarajanagar, Jun 3: All the four members of a poor family ended their lives at H Mookalli village in the district on Wednesday June 2. It is believed that they would have committed this act having been overwhelmed by the stigma attached to the disease in villages and a sense of getting ostracized by others.

Mahadevappa (47), his wife, Mangalamma (40), and children, Jyothi (14) and Shruthi (12) ended their lives. The couple's eldest daughter is married and she stays with her husband elsewhere.

Mahadevappa, who owned 1.5 acres of land, was a coolie. A local had visited his home on Wednesday morning to seek his assistance to bring sugarcane shoots when Mahadevappa or his family members did not respond to his calls. He then grew suspicious, climbed over the roof and peeped into the house after removing a tile when he saw that all the four family members had hanged themselves.

It is said that several people of the village had distanced the family because of the Covid infection. They were treated like untouchables. There is suspicion that this could be the reason the family would have taken this drastic step. Mahadevappa had tested positive for the disease 20 days back but after checks at the hospital he was sent back for home isolation as he was asymptomatic. He had fully recovered a week back and was involved with normal activities. It is said that the villagers refused to buy milk from him even after he fully recovered because of his past infection. A number of families reportedly had distanced from them and were not speaking to the family members. This had hurt Mahadevappa very much.

It is learnt that Mahadevappa had called a close friend from the village on Tuesday night, as he wanted to know whether coronavirus infection gets transmitted even by speaking on the phone. He also lamented the fact that except a couple of people no villager was willing to speak to him even over the phone. On the very next day, the family resorted to mass suicide.

Divya Sara Thomas, district superintendent of police, said that Mahadevappa had fully recovered from coronavirus infection a week back. She said that there is no information why the family took this extreme step.

Suicide is not a solution to any problem. Kindly seek the help of mental health experts if you or someone else you know is under any kind of distress.