ELURU: Four members of a family, including two girl-children, committed suicide by jumping into River Godavari at Bhaktanjaneya Ghat in Kovvur town of West Godavari district. The incident came to light on Saturday morning though it took place on June 21 midnight. According to police, Ponduru Ravi Kumar (29) a businessman from Kotabommali village in Srikakulam district, along with his wife Pavani (24), daughters Harika (4), Pujita (3) and mother Ramanamma, reached Kovvur on June 21 morning. They visited the temples on the Godavari river bund and reached Bhaktanjaneya Ghat in the night. Around 1.00 a.m on June 21, Ravikumar and Pavani, along with their children, jumped into the river. Ramanamma, who also decided to commit suicide, decided against it in the last minute. She woke up watchman Ganga Raju who was asleep on the ghat steps and told him about the incident.
He suggested to her to approach the police and left the place. Ramanamma, who was afraid of facing the police, left for Kotabommali in the early hours. On Saturday morning, the launch drivers at the Bhaktanjaneya Ghat found three bodies and informed the police. Kovvuru DSP S Venkateswara Rao, CI Subhakar and the police personnel reached the spot and fished the bodies out of the river. The police found a plastic carry bag with the bodies. They found Aadhaar cards, ration cards and medical examination papers in the carry bag. On verification, it was found that Ravi Kumar and Pavani married five years ago and Ravi Kumar was suffering from cancer. With this, Ravi Kumar and his wife Pavani decided to commit suicide along with their children.
Ramanamma too decided to commit suicide. The police said the bodies of Ravi Kumar, Pavani, Pujita were recovered and the body of Harika is yet to be traced. Based on the details found in the carry bag, they asked the Srikakulam police to get details of the victims.Soon, the Srikakulam police met Ramanamma and asked her for details. She told them that Ravi Kumar had cancer. The family members had decided to commit suicide as they would be on the roads if Ravi Kumar had died of cancer. The police sent the bodies for post-mortem.
Student hangs self at school
Guntur: A student committed suicide by hanging himself on the school premises at Piduguralla in Guntur district in the early hours of Saturday. According to Piduguralla SI D Ravidra Babu, 12-year-old M Ashok Kumar was depressed due to shis drunkard father’s frequent quarrels with his mother. The boy requested his father not to take liquor but the latter failed to heed his advice. Disgusted with his father’s habit, Ashok Kumar took the extreme step by hanging himself in the classroom of Mandal Parishad High School at Lenin Nagar in Piduguralla. His cousin Dayanand lodged a complaint at the police station soon after the incident. His parents Mellam Chinna Kantha Rao and Kanthamma reached the spot soon after knowing about the incident. The police registered a case .