Four members of a family died when a housewife fighting extreme poverty, allegedly poisoned her daughters and consumed poison herself in West Bengal's Malda district on Saturday.
The 35 year old woman gave food mixed with insecticide to her four daughters, aged between two and twelve years and then consumed the food herself at her home in Nawda Chaipara village under Kaliachak area, police said.
She had sent her seven-year-old son to his father to keep him away. The man, a van rickshaw puller, was away on work at the time, police said.
The woman and two daughters died on the way to the district hospital while another child died after reaching there.
The eldest of the siblings is fighting for her life at the hospital, where they were rushed by their father, police said.
Neighbours said the family was facing extreme poverty and the couple often quarrelled over it.