Devastated Dad Kills Self After Elderly Neighbor Sexually Abused His 10-Year-Old Daughter

The father of a 10-year-old girl, who was sexually assaulted by their elderly neighbor, allegedly killed himself out of depression.

According to police, the 42-year-old father was found hanging dead near his home in Kottayam, Kerala, India on Monday, Oct.25.

The man was reportedly depressed after learning that his 74-year-old neighbor, a provision store owner in the Kurichi village, abused his minor daughter when she went to buy groceries from his store, the police said, the OnManorama reported.

Investigators believe this was the reason for the man to take the extreme decision.

Based on a complaint filed by the girl’s family, the police arrested the perpetrator a few days ago. He was produced before a judge and was remanded to judicial custody for further probing.

Police said the accused had allegedly given sweets to the child in return for her silence. However, the incident came to light when the girl’s family members began noticing a change in her behavior.

When the girl’s parents spoke to her she told them about the alleged abuse after which they took her to the police and filed a complaint against the accused.

The girl’s relatives claimed that the family was alienated by the people in the community, following the incident, which they alleged could have been the reason for the man to end his life.

The man’s body was recovered from the scene and sent to a medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. No suicide note was recovered from the scene, investigators said.

The police have registered a case of unnatural death and a further probe is underway.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a 46-year-old ex-army man who was reportedly left depressed after the Black fungus took away his wife reportedly poisoned his four children before proceeding to commit suicide in Karnataka, India on Friday, Oct. 22.

The now-deceased man, Gopal Hadimani was reportedly dealing with depression since his wife, Jaya, contracted COVID-19 and died due to a mucormycosis (black fungus) infection on July 6.

Spurred by his irrational state, Hadimani allegedly gave poison-laced water to his children Sowmya, 19; Shwetha, 16; Sakshi, 11; and son Srijan, 8; intending to murder them before drinking the same tainted liquid and killing himself, just hours after celebrating his deceased wife's birthday.