Bihar: Couple, 3 kids found dead in Lakhisarai

PATNA: Police recovered bodies of a couple and their three minor children from their house at Laxmipur village under Manikpur police station area in Lakhisarai district early on Monday.
Police said the deceased were identified as Pankaj Mahto (35), his wife Archana Devi (30) and their children Priyanshu Kumari (6), Prince Kumar (4) and Vicky Kumar, who was around two and half year old.
Lakhisarai SP Kartikeya Sharma said “prima facie it seems that Pankaj might have committed suicide by hanging himself after killing his three children and wife”.
“However, post-mortem report of the bodies were awaited to know even if there is any foul play behind the deaths,” he said adding police were investigating the case from all angles.
Manikpur police station SHO Deepak Kumar said it was villagers who had informed police about the bodies inside the house.
“Pankaj’s body was found hanging with a nylon rope from a wooden shaft of the ceiling of the house while the bodies of all three children were lying on bed in the same room,” he said adding Pankaj worked somewhere outside Bihar and had returned home just four days ago.
He said that Archana’s body was found lying in a small water body inside the courtyard of the house.
“There were marks of throttling on the necks of the children and Archana while mark on Pankaj’s neck was similar to that caused by hanging in suicide case,” the SHO said adding police were investigating the case.
He said that villagers told police that on several occasion on the past, quarrel took place between Pankaj and Archana. “However, it was yet not known if the quarrels were due to any kind of financial problem or any other dispute,” he said.
The SHO said that Pankaj’s mother Phulwati Devi (65) lives in a separate house in the same village. “As she was in a state of shock, police could not ask anything from her,” Kumar said adding bodies were sent for post mortem at sadar hospital.