லண்டனில் தாயால் குத்தப்பட்டு மருத்துவமனையில் சிகிச்சை பெற்றுவரும் 6மாத குழந்தையின் படம்

Sasikala Navaneethan 'struggled to cope with work and family'

By John Bingham

Last Updated: 5:11PM BST 01/06/2008

Sasikala Navaneethan, who is being held on suspicion of killing two of her children and leaving a third fighting for her life, was struggling to combine working and bringing up a family, neighbours have said.
The 35-year-old was arrested alongside her husband Navarajah, 39, at their home in Carshalton, South London, on Friday evening after her three children were stabbed.

While the couple's six-month-old daughter is fighting for her life in hospital, her five-year-old brother and four-year-old sister died shortly after the incident.

Police questioned Mr Navaneethan before releasing him with no further action to be taken over the death of the children.

But Scotland Yard said that he remains on bail for a minor matter - it is understood to be in connection with an alleged assault on his wife after returning to the property on Friday.

Neighbours said Mr Navaneethan arrived moments after the police, looking shocked, and was ushered inside.

Jay Raman, 36, runs a computer shop next door to the couple's busy grocery shop in Coulsdon, Surrey.

He said that that there had been no signs of anything "untoward" before the tragedy, but added: "I think things were getting too much for her, running the business and having children.

"She failed her driving test last week, which didn't help, they had been trying to get things together."

Mr Raman said that the couple had lived in a flat above the shop until around six months ago before moving to Carshalton to a bigger house with a garden for the sake of the children.

He added: "They are a very nice family, there was nothing untoward going on at all, there was no history.

Mr Raman told how he had often given the family's children a lift home from the shop if their parents were unable to.

He said: "They were lovely kids, they were always happy, the boy used to ride up and down on his bike."

But he added: "He was very nervous, they had trouble getting the boy into the car to come home with me, he didn't like to be away from his parents."

Mr Raman described the children as "brought up as you would want children to be brought up - well-mannered and well-behaved".