Unable to bear the 'threats and abuses' of their landlord for defaulting on payment of rent, six members of a family ended their lives by consuming poison near Kochi in Kerala, police said.

Two more of the same family have been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.

The entire family -- a 60-year-old widow, her four daughters, two sons and a grandson -- in Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram district consumed poison a few hours after getting into a scuffle with the landlord.

Two of them -- a girl and a boy -- are now fighting a battle against death in a hospital.

In a suicide note, the family said their landlord was pressing them to clear the arrears of two months.

Police said the landlord, who beat up the widow's son on Thursday and also manhandled her, has been taken into custody.

The widow's body lay on the floor, while that of one of her daughters was found hanging to the ceiling.

Four bodies were recovered from a nearby well. The bodies have been sent for inquest to the Alapuzha Medical College hospital.