Five-year- old smothered with pillow — police

If proven, mother could face charges of murdering daughter as well as bid to kill herself, top official says

Dubai The five-year-old girl, who was found dead in her apartment on Saturday — along with her father who committed suicide and injured mother — was smothered with a pillow, Dubai Police disclosed yesterday.

Forensic investigations have established that the girl was smothered with a pillow and the father had hanged himself, Brigadier Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Director of Dubai Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, told Gulf News. The mother was found with slash wounds on her neck and wrist and is still hospitalised.

The I ndian family of three — Rijesh, 32, his wife Sreesha, 30, and daughter Avantika — was living in a building behind Al Musalla Tower in Bur Dubai. The middle- income family is from Chakkarakkal in Kannur district in the south Indian state of Kerala.

The father left two letters

Rijesh mentioned in his suicide note that his former boss was creating problems for him.”

Murder charges

Ribesh Brother of deceased

— one to his family, and the other to police. He explained the reasons behind his decision to kill himself and his family, police said.

The letter to police said he was having f inancial problems, and was also facing problems with his former boss, who is also an Indian. He did not explain the nature of these problems, Brig Al Mansouri said.

If proven that the mother had taken part in suffocating her daughter, she would face charges of murder as well as attempted suicide, he said, adding that the case has been referred to the Public Prosecution.

Everything seemed f ine, said the victim’s brother. “There was no sign of distress and everything seemed f i ne,” Rijesh’s brother Ribesh told Gulf News, adding that the family is still in shock.

Suicide notes

Ribesh said the suicide notes have left some clues. “Rijesh mentioned in his suicide note that his former boss was creating problems for him,” he said.

“He wrote that the former boss came to his house and threatened him, accusing him of cheating... Rijesh denied cheating anyone and wrote that he is ending his life,” Ribesh said.

In his note to their parents, Rijesh mentioned that he still wanted to live but that the circumstances had become diff icult, Ribesh said.

When contacted, t he former boss, P.N., said that he had met Rijesh on Friday night but denied having anything to do with his suicide. “The news came as a shock to me. He called me on Friday around 9.45pm and asked me to meet him to collect a cheque for Dh15,000 which he owed me,” P.N. said. “He gave me the cheque, that’s all. There were no big issues,” he said.

P.N. travelled to Delhi on Saturday early in the morning and returned the same night.