CHICAGO: Tragedy struck an Indian family in Naperville, a southwest suburb of Chicago, when Nimisha Tiwari, an Indian born woman and a mother of two killed herself and her two children over the weekend by dousing a bedroom with gasoline and lighting it on fire, according to Naperville Police.
The headline in the Naperville Sun called this ghastly sad incident a double murder suicide. Nimisha, 32, was captured on a gas station’s surveillance video Saturday afternoon buying a can of gasoline, Naperville police Chief David Dial said at a news conference. About two hours later, her body and those of her son, Vakadham, 4, and daughter, Anaya, 1, were found in flames in the master bedroom of the family’s home in the 1900 block of Nutmeg Lane.
The gas can was found next to the bed and a lighter was lying next to Tiwari’s body, Dial said. He said police believe she poured gas outside the bedroom door, on the floor in the room, and possibly on herself before igniting the blaze.
"There is nothing to indicate that this is anything more than a double-murder suicide investigation, a very tragic situation between the mother and her two children," Dial said. Dial said he did not know the motive for the crime but said the woman and her husband, Anand Tiwari, had marital troubles in the last few months.
Court records show she filed for an order of protection against her husband in May, claiming he encouraged her to kill herself, abused their son, drained their joint checking account and shoved her mother. Anand Tiwari said that a motorist tried to help save the lives of his wife and two children by making quick call to the police.
"I want to thank him the passing motorist who tried to get help" he said sobbing. In a 150-seat Hillside sanctuary, mourners tried to comfort the grieving man today during a traditional Hindu service for his wife, Nimisha Tiwari, and their two young children. Four year-old Vardaan and his 18-month-old sister, Ananya, would be buried side-by-side in Oakridge Cemetery’s Heavenly Angels section, near hundreds of other children.
Their 32-year-old mother is cremated. Anand and Nimisha were married in April 1999 and moved from India to the US later that year. They eventually settled down in Naperville’s Cinnamon Creek subdivision. Neighbors described a happy family, but police and court records documented recent marital discord. Nimisha is said to be struggling with multiple sclerosis. Her father P Awasthi, arrived Wednesday from his home in India to attend the services.
Before he left, he told a newspaper in Calcutta, India, that his daughter was not capable of killing her children. The father said he spoke to her the day of the fire and she seemed fine, according to reports in a local press. Police did not find a suicide note. They still are doing a forensic review on the family’s home computer with the hope of shedding more light on the tragedy. Services were held from 10 am to noon at the Oakridge Cemetery, 4301 W. Roosevelt Road, in Hillside.
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