Bodies of Indian family in Dubai suicide case finally cremated

About 30 people attended the Sharjah cremation ceremony for the family, nearly a month after they died at their home. Police believe Santosh Kumar killed his wife, daughter and himself.

The bodies of Indian film producer Santosh Kumar, his wife Manju Menon and their daughter Gauri were cremated on Saturday, and their ashes will be flown home to be scattered. Courtesy family and friends of Kumar familyShow less

SHARJAH // The bodies of Santosh Kumar, his wife and daughter were cremated in a quiet ceremony in Sharjah on Saturday attended by friends and family, nearly a month after they tragic deaths.

Police registered a case of suicide on July 15 after they found the bodies of the Indian film producer, his wife Manju Menon and daughter Gauri, 9, in their Dubai apartment.

They believed he had suffocated Gauri with a pillow before slitting their wrists.

Officers said financial trouble, unpaid bills and bounced cheques were behind the deaths.

“There were about 30 people at the Sharjah cremation ground and it was a small ceremony,” a relative said. “It was good to finally bring an end to everything and see to it that the family were properly cremated.

"The puja [prayer] ceremony was conducted like we do in India with a priest there for the rituals. It was good to give them a cremation as per our religious customs."

Kumar’s brother, who works in Oman, has been in Dubai for the past three weeks to complete formalities, which included receiving the bodies from the police and cancelling the family’s visas.

Their ashes will probably be taken to India where they would be scattered in a river, the relative said.

“We have not decided when the ashes will be taken back to India,” he said. “This one month our brain was clogged up with this sad situation and we are dealing with things one by one.”

Family members waited for more than a month for the bodies to be released by the police as process took time due to the Eid break.

Police broke into the Kumar’s Al Nahda flat last month after friends and family raised the alarm after the family had not been seen since July 8. They found a suicide note written by Kumar.

Aid workers issued appeals to the Indian community to contact community groups and family for help to resolve debt issues and for psychological counselling.

About 100 Indians have committed suicide in the UAE each year since 2011, of the 1,300 deaths within the community, embassy figures show.

In the first half of this year alone, 37 Indian nationals took their lives in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, out of 544 reported deaths.

Psychological and personal problems, and debt caused by failed business ventures or job losses, have been blamed for suicides.