R B Jagadish
Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala (SP)

Karkala, Dec 25: A childless couple from Bengal in Hirgana village near here committed suicide on the night of Thursday December 22, reportedly on account of the worry over their inability to raise children of their own in spite of their best efforts. The information came to light with inordinate delay.

Seetharam Acharya (55) and his wife, Sunanda Acharya (45), set themselves afire in the puja room of their home. Seetharam and Sunanda were the only occupants of their home, and they had been highly devotional. It is said that they had made advance preparations for the suicide.

Seetharam worked as carpenter while Sunanda was a housewife. Because of the fire, a part of the tiled roof of their house was damaged. The couple had stacked firewood that was normally kept in the backyard, inside the puja room in an orderly fashion for helping their suicide bid. It is suspected that they would have consumed some poisonous substance before torching themselves. Bones wee the only remains found at the spot, and officials of forensic science laboratory at Manipal said that both the bodied had burnt down.

Before ending life, Seetharam had cleared his petty dues to shopkeepers. The fact that camphor, scented sticks etc were found inside the puja room gave the clue that the couple had offered elaborate prayers to the gods before committing suicide. Because of their strong leaning towards religious matters, locals feel that they would have chosen puja room for this act.

It is learnt that Seetharam, a native of Mangaluru, had marrried Sunanda from Paniyur and settled down near Bengal in government land about 15 years ago. The couple had no other problem except the worry over not having children. Seetharam of late, was bothered by health issues, and since the last some years, he was suffering from frequent bouts of depression, and had considerably reduced mingling with people. He often expressed his sadness over his inability to carry forward his lineage.