Woman picked up for questioning over mysterious death of kin

A 34-year-old-woman was taken into custody for questioning today in connection with the death of four of her family members under mysterious circumstances, in a village in the district, during the last seven years.

Soumya's father Kunhikannan (76), mother Kamala (68) and her eight-year-old daughter Aishwarya had died in a span of three months this year.

Keerthana, the woman's second daughter had died in 2012, police said.

All the four had died due to severe vomiting and nausea, they said.

Police took Soumya into custody after forensic reports revealed the acute presence of Aluminium Phosphide, a poisonous substance, which is commonly used in pesticides, in the body of the elderly couple.

Thalassery Circle Inspector, Premachandran said Soumya is being questioned as she is the only living member of the family and the interrogation was on.

When Aishwarya died in January last, her body was allegedly buried inside the premises of their residence near Pinarayi, without postmortem.

When the elderly couple also died under similar circumstances, relatives and locals raised suspicion and a postmortem was conducted.

Subsequently, Aishwarya's body was exhumed yesterday by the police and the viscera was sent for chemical examination to check the presence of any residue of Aluminium Phosphide in her body.