Idukki, October 30: A 42-year-old man attacked his wife with an iron rod at her workplace before shooting himself dead with a revolver outside the post office at Kuzhitholu in Kerala's Idukki district on Friday morning, police said. The woman, Sreeja, 35, a temporary employee at the Kuzhitholu post office, suffered serious head injuries and is undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Kattappana. Her condition is reported to be critical.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

The deceased was identified as Santhosh, 42, a native of Idukki. According to police, he reached the post office carrying an iron rod soon after his wife arrived for work in the morning. A heated argument reportedly broke out between the couple inside the office, during which he allegedly struck Sreeja repeatedly on the head with the rod. Seeing people approaching, Santhosh came out of the building and fired a shot at his own head with a revolver he was carrying. He died on the spot.

Source: Daily Kiran

42Age of the man who died at the spot
35Age of the woman in intensive care in Kattappana
1Unlicensed revolver recovered by police
2 yearsPeriod over which the couple's relations had reportedly been strained

Local residents and police rushed Sreeja to the private hospital in Kattappana. According to the preliminary assessment of the police, the incident followed prolonged domestic disputes between the couple, whose relations had reportedly not been good for the past two years and whose divorce proceedings had started. Investigators suspect Santhosh may have planned the attack in advance. These details are part of a preliminary police assessment and the investigation is continuing.

A police examination found that the revolver used in the incident did not have a licence. Police have launched an investigation to establish how Santhosh obtained the firearm and whether anyone else was involved in procuring it. The Kattappana police have registered a case. Santhosh's body was shifted to the taluk hospital mortuary for post-mortem examination after inquest proceedings.

What happens next: Kattappana police will continue recording statements and tracing the source of the unlicensed revolver, while doctors in Kattappana monitor the injured woman's condition in intensive care.