india

Updated: Jul 23, 2019 07:11 IST

A 47-year-old man allegedly poisoned his two sons and daughter before killing himself at Dodwa village in Haryana Sonepat district, the police said on Monday.

The police identified the four as Mahender Singh, 47, a mechanic, Samir, 12, Raj, 6, and Sonia, 10. The kids were students of a government primary school at Dodwa.

The matter came to light when a teacher of the primary school sent some students to their house on Monday to inquire why Mahender Singh’s kids had not attended their classes for four days.

“Their house was shut and fusty,’’ said a schoolboy. He added they informed their teachers, who broke open the door of Mahender Singh’s house along with some villagers and found the dead bodies.

Mahender Singh’s family said his wife, Nurjahan, had left him two months ago.

His nephew, Sadham, said Nurjahan and his uncle frequently quarrelled.

“My uncle was in depression and it seems that he poisoned his kids three days ago, following that he committed suicide.”

Villagers said Nurjahan, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was Singh’s third wife and his two earlier wives had died.

“We suspect that Mahender Singh took this extreme step after he saw his wife with a man, who supplies milk and other items,” a villager said.

A teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the kids were smart students and disciplined.

Haryana police sub-inspector Samunder Singh said prima facie it appears that Mahender Singh ended his life along with his kids by consuming poison a couple of days ago. “We have sent the bodies to a government hospital in Gohana for autopsy. The exact reasons behind the deaths could be ascertained after that.”