Kerala: Mother Strangles Endosulfan Victim, Kills Self At Home

Vimalakumari (58) was found hanging and her 28-year-old daughter was found dead inside a bedroom of their house.

A hand of a deceased person (Image for representation/Pixabay) ( Image Source :Pixabay )

Kasaragod: A mother and her daughter, an endosulfan victim, were found dead at their residence on Monday evening at Rajapuram near here, police said.

Vimalakumari (58) was found hanging and her 28-year-old daughter was found dead inside a bedroom of their house.

"It was Vimalakumari's daughter-in-law who reached the house from Andhra Pradesh on Monday and saw the bodies. Inquest is going on," police told PTI.

Police said the daughter was differently-abled and the mother was working at a local school as helper.

They suspect that the mother strangulated her daughter and later died by suicide.

Vimalakumari is survived by two sons.

Meanwhile, the Congress lashed out at the Left government alleging that it failed at ensuring proper justice to the endosulfan victims.

"The news reports that a mother died by suicide after killing an endosulfan victim is shocking. The mother was unable to look after her 28-year-old daughter which resulted her in taking the extreme step," state Congress chief K Sudhakaran said in a statement.

Sudhakaran alleged that the state government has not yet taken any step to provide Rs 5 lakh each to the "6,287 victims in the district" even after the Supreme Court had directed it to do so twice.

Endosulfan, an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide, was used widely on crops like cashew, cotton, tea, paddy, fruits and others until 2011, when the Supreme Court banned its production and distribution.

The health effects of the chemical include neurotoxicity, late sexual maturity, physical deformities, poisoning among others. The pesticide was widely used in Kerala as well as other states.

Reportedly, over 3,700 victims of endosulfan exposure were identified, of whom 102 are bedridden, 326 mentally challenged, 201 are physically disabled and 119 have cancer.