A man, his wife, and their two children were found dead at their house in Rajshahi鈥檚 Paba upazila early Friday.
Police suspect that it was a case of murder and suicide driven by debt and hunger.
The deceased were identified as Minarul Islam, 35, his wife Monira Khatun, 28, their son Mahim, 13, and daughter Mithila, 2, of Bamnashikor village under Parila union.
A handwritten note, believed to be from Minarul, was recovered from the house.
In the note, Minarul reportedly confessed to killing his family before hanging himself, writing that he could no longer bear the burden of debt and the pain of not being able to feed them.
鈥榃e are four and we will聽 die tonight. No one is to blame for our deaths. I killed my wife first, then my son Mahim, then my daughter Mithila, and finally I would hang myself. We died because of debt and hunger. Life had become too hard to bear. It is better to die together than live in misery,鈥� one page of the note read.
The village, though in Paba upazila, falls under the jurisdiction of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police鈥檚 Motihar police station.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police commissioner Mohammad Abu Sufian, who visited the scene, told reporters that preliminary evidence suggested that Minarul strangled his wife and children before taking his own life.
鈥楾he bodies were sent to Rajshahi Medical College morgue for autopsy. Once the autopsy is done, we will be able to know the exact cause of their deaths,鈥� he said, adding that the note mentioned financial hardship as the motive.
Local residents said that Minarul, a farmer by profession, had long been struggling to find work and repay debts.
