A purported birthday celebration took a tragic turn in Kerala’s Palakkad, after a 23-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were found charred to death in the former’s house on Sunday, April 24. According to the police, the man, identified as Balasubramaniam, set the girl on fire first and then immolated himself at his house in Kollengode of Palakkad.
The two were reportedly in a relationship. According to the police, Balasubramaniam had invited the girl to their house on the pretext of celebrating his birthday late on Saturday. His mother said that the incident occurred around 7am on Sunday, and that she only noticed something was wrong when she saw smoke and flames coming from his room. According to Mathrubhumi, his mother and younger brother were in the house at the time of the incident.
The report also states that the mother did not know her son was in a relationship, or that he had brought the girl to their home at night. When she saw the smoke from Balasubramaniam’s room, the neighbours were also alerted and they helped douse the fire. The couple was then rushed to the Thrissur Medical College Hospital, and later to a private hospital in Ernakulam. However, both of them succumbed at around 2.20pm on Sunday.
According to the police, the girl’s parents were not happy about her relationship with Balasubramaniam, and reportedly did not allow her to see him. However, it is learnt that they had said they would allow the two to get married after the girl turned 18. "The two were in a relationship and the parents had assured the couple to give their blessings for their marriage after the girl turned 18. The parents have no idea why they resorted to this extreme step,” a police official at the Kollengode police station told TNM.