A couple and their 13-year-old son were found dead inside their home in Assam’s Darrang district on Thursday evening, and the police suspect the man fatally attacked his wife and son with a sharp weapon before taking his own life.
The incident took place in Sipajhar area of Darrang around 6pm, the police said, adding that the bodies have been sent for postmortem.
“Since there was no one else in the house, we don’t have any eyewitnesses. Other family members told us they found the bodies in the evening. We are investigating the matter,” said Rosy Talukdar, additional superintendent of police (crime), Darrang.
According to Talukdar, initial investigations suggest the wife and son were attacked with a sharp weapon, which was later recovered from the terrace along with the husband’s belongings.
“The wife and son had deep cuts on their face, throat, and other parts of the body, while no external injury was found on the husband. We recovered the suspected murder weapon, his mobile phone, and a pair of slippers from the house,” Talukdar said.
The deceased were identified as Dipak Nath (55), a state government employee, his wife Pratibha Nath (46), a homemaker, and their minor son who was in class VII.
{{/usCountry}}The deceased were identified as Dipak Nath (55), a state government employee, his wife Pratibha Nath (46), a homemaker, and their minor son who was in class VII.
{{/usCountry}}Police said Dipak was found dressed for office but he did not go to work that day. His son also missed school, and Pratibha did not respond to phone calls since morning.
“We are awaiting the postmortem report to establish the timeline of deaths. It appears Dipak may have killed his wife, and his son was possibly killed while trying to save her. But these are only preliminary observations,” Talukdar added.
About the injuries, she said Pratibha had multiple deep cuts on her face and throat, while the son was stabbed from behind and had his fingers severed. “The injuries on the son suggest he tried to resist the attack before succumbing,” the ASP said.
The motive behind the killings remains unclear. “We went to their house in the evening after repeated phone calls went unanswered,” one relative said.