Suicide father 'paid former boss Dh15,000'

Suicide note left by distressed father who killed daughter in family pact made no mention of financial troubles, says relative.

Six-year-old Avantika Nambiar, who was suffocated in her family's flat in Dubai shortly before her father hanged himself.

DUBAI // The suicide notes written by Rijesh Nambiar, who hanged himself shortly after his six-year-old daughter was suffocated, did not mention any financial problems.

However, according to a member of his family who has read the notes - written in Malayalam and English - they revealed that he had recently "paid his former boss Dh15,000".

Nambiar's wife, Sreesha, who was found with her wrists and neck cut, should have been celebrating her 29th birthday yesterday with her colleagues at Al Reyami Interiors.

Instead, she was confined to the psychiatric ward of Rashid Hospital, claiming to have no knowledge that her daughter, Avantika, was suffocated before her husband, hanged himself at their apartment in Bur Dubai on Saturday.

"She remembered that it was her birthday," said a close relative who has been visiting her regularly. "I wished her happy birthday, but didn't want to do anything special under the circumstances."

Mrs Nambiar's case has been referred to public prosecutors who are investigating a charge of attempted suicide. It is not yet clear whether she will be charged with suffocating Avantika, as police do not yet know who killed her.

A relative said Mrs Nambiar was still "blank" about the events of the weekend, when police found her bleeding in her bathroom. "She didn't know how she had cut herself or how she was admitted to the hospital. We didn't want to tell her what happened and shock her. It's best to leave the doctors to do that," he said.

Her colleagues at Al Reyami Interiors said they usually have cake and present a card when someone on staff has a birthday. They said they debated sending her texts to wish her happy birthday, but decided against it. Instead they met to pray for their colleague's quick recovery.

"She is not the kind of person who could have tried committing suicide," said one colleague. "No one is ready to believe what happened. Everything looks like a mystery."

Meanwhile, Nambiar's family say they are urging authorities to release the bodies for repatriation, so the father and daughter can be cremated.

Both bodies will be held at the state mortuary until prosecutors have satisfied the forensic post-mortem requirements of their investigation.