Four members of a family were found murdered at their home in a Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana LIG Colony in Bhopal’s Malikhedi area on Monday. The victims were identified as Saraswati, 50, Narendra Sahu’s mother; his wife Somlata, 29; daughter Kriti, 10; and son Khush, 6. All four had sharp-force injuries to their necks. Narendra, 35, was found dead on railway tracks near Chopra Kalan in Sukh Sevania police station limits. Police suspect he killed his family before jumping in front of a train, but the sequence of events is yet to be established. Brother-in-law alerts police: According to the police, Narendra’s brother-in-law, Deepak, received information about his death on Monday morning and went to the family’s home in Malikhedi. The door was locked, and repeated calls went unanswered. Suspecting something was wrong, he alerted Dial-112.

 

Police reached the house, opened the door and found the four bodies. The call was received around 12.30 pm. CCTV shows Narendra outside home: Nishatpura ACP Shashank Jain said that CCTV footage from the neighbourhood showed Narendra leaving the house between 7.30 am and 8 am after locking the door. Police suspect the killings may have taken place between 4 am and 5 am. The exact time of death will be established through post-mortem and forensic examinations. Family reportedly had Rs 40 lakh debt: Investigators learnt that Narendra worked as a cook and that the family had rented the house on September 5 last year for Rs 5,000 a month. Police have also received information that the family owed around Rs 40 lakh. Investigators are examining its financial condition, debt and other domestic circumstances. They have not established whether the debt was linked to the incident.

 

Relatives devastated by discovery: Narendra’s younger sister Madhu, her husband Deepak and his younger brother Mahendra Sahu, who travelled from Indore, reached the house after receiving the news. They were inconsolable on seeing the bodies of their mother, brother, sister-in-law and children. Forensic team collects evidence: DCP Zone 4 Adarshkant Shukla said police initially received information about a death on the railway tracks, which led them to discover the four other deaths at the family’s home. A forensic team collected evidence from the scene, and all five bodies were sent for postmortem examination. Police are investigating Narendra’s suspected role, the timing of the deaths and the possible motive.