Hari Singh, the owner of popular ‘Iruttu Kadai’ halwa shop in Tirunelveli, allegedly died by suicide Thursday morning after being tested positive for Covid-19. He was 79. Speaking to indianexpress.com, Tirunelveli SP Deepak M Damor said Singh was admitted to a private nursing home in Palayamkottai on Tuesday. He received his RT-PCR test results Thursday morning confirming the infection. The police official said Singh ended his life in the hospital by hanging himself with a sheet attached to a window. Further investigation is underway, he added. The legendary wheat halwa store, situated near the Nellaippar temple in Thirunagar near Tirunelveli Junction, was established in 1900 by R Krishna Singh. The shop was then run by his son K Bijili Singh before Hari Singh took over. The shop is referred to as ‘Iruttu Kadai’ (Dark shop) because of its age-old tradition of selling the halwa with a minimal light source. DMK spokesperson K S Radhakrishnan said the shop owners never aspired to compete with others to boost their business. He added that they never altered the shop to make it appealing to the customers because they believed in their product. "During festival days like Diwali, Pongal, there will be a huge crowd standing in front of this shop, it will be a herculean task to buy the halwa. I hope the family members of Singh will carry forward the legacy of the shop,” he said.
