Anand V H was all of 23, and an engineering graduate to boot. But he was superstitious too — so superstitious that he ended his life on Thursday, all because a crow perched itself on his head -- twice -- the previous day. Anand committed suicide allegedly by consuming poison at his rented accommodation on 3rd Cross, 5th Main, Manjunath Nagar in Rajajinagar. The incident came to light Thursday morning after his older brother, who was in Gadag (420 km from Bangalore near Dharwad), got worried and came to check on him.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Anand got very upset after a crow sat on his head on Wednesday. He immediately called up his mother and narrated the entire incident to her, expressing fears that it augured ill — a belief among a section of Hindus. His mother tried to allay his fears and told him to visit the Hanumantharaya Swamy temple and light a lamp. Anand, however, was not convinced and went home and locked himself up before taking the drastic step.
“My brother had called my mother, Parvathi, and told her about the crow. He was very tense when he spoke. My mother rushed to an astrologer and on his advice told Anand to pray at the Hanumantharaya Swamy temple," V H Hampanna, elder brother of the victim, told INN.
He went on to add that a few minutes later he called up Anand, but didn’t get any response. He presumed his younger sibling was resting as he used to wake up by 5.30 am to go to work and take a nap after returning from work around 4.45 pm.
Hampanna said he came to Bangalore on Thursday morning, and when Anand failed to open the door despite repeated knocking, he let himself in with his spare keys. “Once I opened the door, I found my brother lying on the floor with froth coming out of his mouth. I immediately rushed him to a private hospital where doctors declared him brought dead,” he said.
Colleagues told the police a visibly disturbed Anand had narrated the incident to them on reaching office on Wednesday morning. He had told them the first time the crow perched itself on his head, he took to his heels. But he had a second brush with the persistent crow, following which he again fled the spot. Later, he took the office bus.
Hampanna and Anand were living together in the rented house. Hampanna had gone to Gadag when Anand took the extreme step. Anand, who had completed his BE from a college in Gadag, had been a trainee engineer with HAL for the past seven months.
Hampanna, however, said they were awaiting the post-mortem report as no poison bottle was found in the house. “I am waiting for the post-mortem report, but even I think he took the extreme step due to the crow incident.”
Police said it was likely Anand consumed the poison elsewhere, and had then come home and locked himself in. His body was handed over to the family after post-mortem. A case of unnatural death was registered at Basaveshwaranagar police station, and investigation is on.
Crow Chronicles
With a clientele that includes VVIPs, astrologer Chandrashekhar Swami who made headlines after he matched the horoscopes of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai and gave his consent for the marriage offers an insight into the incident. He says people generally have a wrong belief about the crow because the bird is the vehicle of Lord Shani. “But there is a positive sign behind a crow sitting on anyone’s head. It means the crow has sensed danger ahead and is alerting the person. If something like this happens, one should conduct a puja and correct mistakes, if any,” said the swami, adding one should, in fact, thank the crow for sending out an advance warning.
Apart from this, it is believed that a crow lives for 1,000 years and, hence, it would have seen our ancestors. “They come in the form of a crow and alert us about problems. So, take corrective measures. Suicide is not the solution,” he added.
Astrologer Banu Prakash Sharma says according to astrology the soul of a person who ends his life unnaturally, is said to reside in the crow. “After death, such a soul will not have or find any place to settle down, so it enters the eggs of a crow,” says Sharma.
Hence, it is considered a bad omen if it enters a house or touches a human being. Sharma said crows never die a natural death. “That’s why the family members of a deceased offer curd rice to crows to ensure the soul of the dead person is at peace,” Sharma added.
