Couple Dies by Suicide Amid Marital Discord, Leaving Three Children Orphaned

PATIALA: A misunderstanding between a couple led to double suicide in a family in Pooniwal village in Punjab’s Patiala district.Gurmeet Singh, 42, took his own life, unaware that his wife, Manpreet Kaur, had died by suicide days earlier.

Their three children are now orphaned.The couple had marital troubles and the wife walked out with their children. Gurmeet thought she had eloped and decided to take the extreme step, police said.On June 29, Manpreet left home with their two daughters, aged 10 and 20, and a 17-year-old son after another quarrel. She drove the children to Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup in Fatehgarh Sahib. There, she asked them to continue on their two-wheeler, saying she would follow on foot. She never did. On July 3, Gurmeet was found hanging at his home and SHO Gurpreet Singh Handa said Manpreet’s body was retrieved from Bhakra canal two days earlier.