A23-year-old woman and her three-year-old son died after consuming poison allegedly due to the fear of catching Covid-19 infection in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai.
As many as five people in the family including the mother and brothers of the deceased woman consumed poison allegedly fearing the infection. While three of them survived, the woman and her three-year-old child were found dead by police.
According to a report published in The Times of India, the mother Lakshmi was unable to cope with the loss of her husband Nagaraj. The husband, a daily wage worker had died of natural causes in December. The family is said to have been deeply affected by the death of Nagaraj.
The deceased, Jothika was separated from her husband and was living with her mother. Jothika reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 on January 8 and conveyed the same to her mother. The family is said to have consumed poison fearing the infection spreading amongst them.
The neighbours alerted the police the next day who rushed three members of the family to a government hospital. Jothika and her son had died when the police arrived.
A case has been registered and investigation is underway. The police suspect that the family feared contracting Covid-19 and its consequences so they decided to end their life. Health officials have urged residents not to panic and seek medical help.
