Five of family found dead at their residence in West Bengal

Five members of a family, including two children, were found dead at their residence in West Bengal's Dakshin Dinajpur district on Sunday, a senior police officer said.

Bodies of Anup Barman (33), his mother Ulubala Barman, wife Mallika Barman and two daughters -- both under 10 years -- Beauty Barman and Snigdha Barman were recovered by a team of police officers around 6 am from their residence at Jamalpur village in Tapan police station area.

According to the officer, it wasn't yet clear if this was a case of suicide or murder.

Locals noticed Anup's body hanging from the ceiling of his residence and informed the police.

He was suffering from cancer and had little or no money left for his treatment, he said.

It could be that all of them were murdered at their residence, or the 33-year-old might have killed his family members before taking his own life, he said.

"Anup had recently sold a piece of land as he needed money for his treatment. He was finding it difficult to bear household expenses due to his failing health.

"Circumstantial evidence suggests Anup killed his mother, wife and children before hanging himself. We are still probing the matter," the officer said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and more details would be available in the case after the report arrives, the officer added.