Kozhikode: In yet another case of family suicide in the hilly district of Wayanad, four members of a family belonging to the farming community ended their lives at Kuppadithara under the jurisdiction of Pandinjarathara, near Vythiri, in the early hours of Wednesday.

Moonnukandathil Ramachandran, 42, his wife, Leelamma, 40, and teenaged children, Sumisha, 16, and Akhil Raj, 13, were found dead by the neighbours and relatives at their residence in the morning. They had allegedly consumed poison and mounting debt was suspected to be the reason, the police said.

Ramachandran had taken loans from various financial institutions, including, Vythiri Service Cooperative Bank, Canara Bank and South Malabar Gramin Bank. Further, he had also taken loans under the Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana amounting to Rs.30,000.

His wife was reported to be in a state of depression. Besides, the family was finding it difficult to fund the education of the children. Sumisha had passed this year's SSLC examinations obtaining 585 marks and her brother was studying in Class VIII.

Apart from being a farmer, Ramachandran was employed in a local cooperative milk society, the police said.

The bodies were released to the relatives after a post-mortem was conducted at the district hospital at Mananthavady. Kalpetta Deputy Superintendent of Police P.S. Gopi and Vythiri Circle Inspector E.P. Prithiviraj visited the spot.

Incidentally, another debt-ridden farmer, E.K. Narayanan Nair, 62, hailing from Panamaram in Wayanad district, who attempted suicide last week, succumbed to his injuries at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on Monday night. He was under treatment at a private hospital at Kalpetta earlier.

According to official figures, 321 farmers had committed suicide during the period from April 1, 1999 to June 2, 2006. Six more persons had committed suicide after June 2, excluding the cases reported on Monday and Wednesday.

The incident on Wednesday was the third such instance reported in Wayanad district in the last six months.

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