When death derailed his plans: The boy, unaware of the reality, was waiting for his parents to wake up.

HUBBALLI: It was a heartwrenching scene at Munirabad railway station of Koppal district on Monday morning: a three-year-old boy was playing beside the bodies of his dead parents, assuming they were still asleep.

When passengers got suspicious and questioned the boy , he told them they were to visit Huligemma temple once they got up, and tried to rouse them up. He wandered around the station, waiting for them to get up, unaware that they would never wake up again. Some passengers then checked and found the couple was dead, and brought it to the notice of railway police. When people gathered near the bodies, the boy , Devaraj, told them they had come from Gadag on a train.

Hearing him repeat, in all innocence, that his parents were asleep, passengers and even the policemen couldn't control their tears. There was also confusion and reluctance to tell the child that his parents were dead.

RS Kotagi, PSI, Gadag Railway Police, said they got information from Munirabad station about the death of two persons and visited the spot for inspection. "We found that a boy was playing near the bodies. When we asked him for his name, he told us he was Devaraj and had come here to visit Huligemma temple," he said.

Later, police identified the deceased as Iranna Talawar, 50, and Manjula, 40, residents of Annigeri and now settled in Gadag. "We contacted some their relatives through the contact list on their mobile phone," Kotagi said.

Iranna and Manjula boarded the train to Koppal from Gadag along with Devaraj. Manjula was said to be Iranna's second wife. When they reached Munirabad on Sunday night, they stayed at Munirabad station and slept on the platform. On Monday morning, they were found dead under mysterious circumstances.

"Prima facie, it looks like suicide case, but we are not sure whether they consumed poison or something else. We don't know the exact reason for their death. It will be clear after we get the postmortem reports," he said.

"We have handed over the bodies to the district hospital for postmortem and informed their relatives to take the boy. If no one comes forward, the boy will be handed over to the Child Protection Committee," Kotagi added.

