Parents of Bekal Beach Fest train-accident victim found dead

The parents of an engineering student who died after being hit by a train while attending a music event at the Bekal Beach Fest were found dead in their home.

The police identified the deceased as Venugopal Nair, 50, from Poinachi Parambu and his wife Smitha, 42. Their bodies were discovered in the central hall of their house on Friday morning.

The Melparamba police initiated inquest proceedings. An investigation into the circumstances of the deaths is under way, with the preliminary conclusion being suicide.

The couple’s only son M. Shivanandnan, 19, was a student at an engineering college in Mangaluru. He was killed by a train on December 29 while heading to participate in the Bekal Beach Fest. Relatives and local people say the couple had been in severe mental distress since their son’s unexpected death.

The couple’s bodies will be shifted to the Kasaragod General Hospital for post-mortem. The police said that clarity on the cause of the death would emerge once the investigation was completed.

Reports indicate that the couple had repeatedly told their parents they could not live without their son. Despite family efforts to console them, they reportedly had sunk into deep depression.

(Suicide prevention helpline: DISHA – 1056, 0471-2552056)