Mysuru: Even as the incident of a KSRP Head Constable from Mysuru killing his four-year-old autistic son and committing suicide by hanging at a lodge in Bengaluru is still fresh in the minds of people, here is another tragic incident where a well-to-do doctor couple committed suicide using a single saree from a hook of a ceiling fan as they were depressed over their only son’s death. What triggered the extreme step is a diagnosis that suggested a surgery to cure a heart ailment.
The doctors are 56-year-old Dr. Satish Kumar and his wife 57-year-old J. Veena. Satish Kumar, a native of Periyapatna taluk in the district, was an alumnus of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) and Veena, his classmate in the same college.
They were living on 14th Main Road, Saraswathipuram. The families of Dr. Sathish and two of his younger brothers were all residing in the same building, on different floors.
Dr. Satish and his wife’s bodies were seen in a hanging state, hugging each other when Satish’s younger brother P.N. Chandrashekar checked upon them.
Chandrashekar immediately alerted the Police and Saraswathipuram Inspector Suresh Kumar and Sub-Inspector Anil conducted mahazar. The post-mortem was conducted at MMC&RI mortuary and the bodies were handed over to relatives.
LOSS OF ONLY SON
After working at Sri Ramakrishna Mission Charitable Hospital in Ponnampet of Kodagu district and also in Bengaluru, the couple was working in a hospital of the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, in Anta, Baran district, Rajasthan. Later, they joined the hospital of Birla Cements in Kalaburagi.
When their son Vishak secured a medical seat in JSS Medical College in Mysuru, they shifted to Mysuru and opened a clinic in Saraswathipuram. However, Vishak died as a bus rammed into his brand new motorbike near Kukkarahalli Lake on February 27, 2007. Vishak was in the first year of his medical course then. Following their only son’s death, the couple went into depression and even stopped medical practice. It took a long time for them to come out of the depression.
TRIGGER FOR SUICIDE
On Mar. 27, Dr. Sathish complained of chest pain and he was admitted to Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in Mysuru where three holes were detected in his heart. Doctors then advised Kumar to undergo an open heart surgery. The couple sought sometime to prepare for the surgery and Kumar was discharged from the hospital at around 9.30 am yesterday.
Within a few hours of returning from the hospital, they took the extreme step, said Chandrashekar. Chandrashekar drove his brother and sister-in-law home from the hospital.
The incident came to light at around 1.30 pm when Chandrashekar went to his brother’s house in the first floor only to find them dead. He was suspicious as they did not respond to his calls for coffee and also for lunch in the afternoon.
“My brother and sister-in-law came home around 9.30 am. I returned to my house at 11 am after talking to them for some time. Around 11.45 am, I called them to come and have some tea. When they did not respond, I thought that they may be asleep and returned. But, when I went to call them for lunch around 2 pm, I found them dead,” Chandrashekar said.
In a death note written in Kannada, Dr. Satish wrote, “We are fed up seeing this drama of life and we are upset because of our health condition. My brothers can share the properties equally among themselves.”
The doctor couple in their happier time.
PASSION FOR TREKKING
According to Chandrasekhar, it took some years for the doctor couple to come out of the shock of the death of their son. “In 2011, they closed the clinic and took to travelling. They were associated with the Youth Hostels Association of India and used to extend medical care to the trekkers. They would spend a lot of time, at least eight months in a year, travelling, mostly in the Himalayas. After spending three months in Manali, they had returned only in December. They had planned a trip again in April,” he said.
It is suspected that Dr. Satish Kumar and Veena could not cope with the fact that they have to refrain from their regular trekking activities once Kumar underwent an open heart surgery.
If they have more children …….
I have heard that they had only one child.
RIP .. Very Sad
It is indeed very tragic. It is always hard to cope with the loss of a beloved spouse or child. Some people can cope others cannot. I can only guess that the health condition of Dr. Staish may have precipitated their action. It is a pity they did not seek the help of a psychotherapist.