Depressed by granddaughter's death, elderly couple end lives

Fate turned cruel for the second time for this techie couple in just nine months. Guruprasad and Suguna were shattered when they found a note by Guruprasad’s parents KV Murthy and Chaya that they had decided to die as they could no longer bear the loss of their granddaughter Vaishnavi.

The note, in fact, helped the railway police to establish the identity of an elderly couple who were run over by a train near Hebbal on Monday night. Murthy, 70 and Chaya, 65, were residents of Kumaraswamy Layout. Their only granddaughter Vaishnavi, 7, died after she was attacked by a swarm of bees at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens on August 15, 2015 during the Independence Day flower show.

Murthy had taken voluntary retirement from the Indian Air Force and joined a private office. The couple left their home around 5 pm on May 23 and reached Hebbal. They slept on the railway track with Murthy putting his hand around his wife’s neck. They were run over by a train around 7.30 pm. The Baiyappanhalli railway police shifted the bodies to Bowring Hospital and shared the details on WhatsApp group for policemen. They also informed all the police stations in the city to establish the identity of the victims.

On the fateful night, Guruprasad and Suguna returned home late and found that Murthy and Chaya were not at home. They went to Srirangapatna and Nanjanagud the next day as the elderly couple would visit temples outside Bengaluru. After not finding them there, Guruprasad lodged a missing complaint with the Kumaraswamy Layout police.

Guruprasad was searching for some clues on his father’ mobile phone which had left behind, but in vain. He ended up finding a note in the bed room which stated: “We have decided to commit suicide. Nobody is responsible for our deaths. We no longer have interest in life after Vaishnavi’s death.” Guruprasad rushed to the Kumaraswamy Layout police station with the note and the police there contacted the Baiyappanahalli railway police.

The police took Guruprasad and Suguna to Bowring Hospital mortuary’s where the bodies were kept. They broke down as Guruprasad confirmed that bodies were of his parents.

“I had told my parents to forget Vaishnavi. I had even planned to adopt a baby, just for them. I had never imagined that my parents would die in this manner,” the police said quoting him.