PUTHOOR: A man committed suicide by setting himself on fire in his sister's compound. The deceased is Puthoor Maranadu native Vijayakumar(67). The charred body was found yesterday morning.

Vijayakumar had been unable to go to work for the past few months due to physical problems. Sources said that he committed suicide due to financial problems. Vijayakumar used to go to his elderly sister Vijayamma's house every day with food. He visited Vijayamma on Wednesday night as well. At around 1 am, Vijayamma woke up seeing a fire in the backyard near the house. She immediately put out the fire with the help of the neighbours. Everyone thought that the dry wood logs kept in the backyard might have accidentally caught fire.

After dousing the fire, Vijayamma went back to bed. She did not go out despite noticing an unusual smell. The charred body was found in the morning when Vijaymma checked the spot where the fire broke out. Soon, the police reached the spot and conducted an inspection. They found a suicide note from a shirt hanging on a nearby tree branch. Upon reading the suicide note, it was confirmed that Vijayakumar had set himself on fire.

In the suicide note written to a friend, Vijayakumar stated that no one else had a role in his death and that he took his life due to financial difficulties as he was physically unable to work. Police have not found traces of petrol and kerosene. The forensic department collected evidence. The body was cremated in the evening after postmortem at Govt Medical College Hospital, Paripally.