Father of three commits suicide

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 December 1998, 12:59 GMT]
Kumaresu Yogarajah (36), father of three children, who had sought refuge at Thatchanamaruthmadu in the Madhu area, committed suicide by burning himself. He was unable to bear the sight of his children crying in hunger, said the Sri Lankan Police.

The tragic incident occurred on December 3.

Yogarajah was rushed to Madhu hospital and immediately transferred to Vavuniya and then to Anuradhapura where he died on December 5, according to the police.

The police said that it was revealed in the inquest held at Anuradhapura on Sunday (December 6), that his family, displaced from Aanaikoddai in Jaffna, were depended on the relief food assistance provided by the Sri Lankan Government.

The relief, however, was inadequate for the family as the father could not find any employment due to the prevailing situation in the area.

His brother, K.Kuhaanandarajah, testifying at the inquest, said that on the day of the incident, the three children had cried in hunger and the father, who was mentally disturbed over the difficult situation, had poured kerosene on his body and lit himself.

The attempts to save him had failed, the witness testified.

The coroner returned a verdict of suicide and handed over the body to the relatives.

The body was brought to Madhu with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society in Vavuniya.