Kollam, Wednesday, 01 September 2010: A lottery dealer and his wife from Kollam committed suicide by jumping before a train near Kayamkulam here on Wednesday.

According to the police, Manikandan, 48, and his wife Mohanakumari, 43, residents of Saravana Nagar at Eravipuram of Kollam, jumped before the Netravati Express near the Cheravally level cross near Kayamkulam about 12 noon on Wednesday, after they left home saying that they were on their way to a temple at Vaikom.

Manikandan, who used to run a dealership of used cars, turned a lottery vendor three years back and was doing reasonably well, having three lottery stalls at Eravipuram, Chathannoor and Decentmukku. The current lottery issue may have forced the couple to take his extreme step, as he had some financial problems, said the source.

The bodies have been shifted to the Kayamkulam Government Hospital morgue. The couple is survived by two children.