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Two separate cases were filed over the recovery of four bodies of the same family in Rajshahi reportedly in a murder-suicide incident.

Rustam Ali, father of deceased Minarul Islam, 35, who was found dead along with his wife Monira Begum, 28, their son Mahin, 13, and daughter Mithila, 2, at their home on Friday morning, filed a case of unnatural death on Friday night, said Matihar police officer-in-charge Abdul Maleq.

He said that Minraul’s mother-in-law also filed another murder case against unidentified persons on the same night alleging that her daughter Monira, grandson Mahim, and granddaughter Mithila were strangled to death.

The police officer said that they had handed over the bodies to the family members on Saturday noon following autopsies.

‘We are investigating the cases with utmost importance,’ he added.

A handwritten note, believed to be of Minarul, was recovered from the house located in Bamonshikhar village under Paba upazila, where all four of the family were found dead.

In the note, Minarul reportedly confessed to killing his family before hanging himself, saying that he could no longer bear the burden of debt and the pain of not being able to feed them.

Meanwhile, a steady stream of people continued to throng Minraul’s home in Bamonshikhar village on Saturday, expressing shock at the tragedy that locals believed was driven by debt and hunger.

Neighbours and relatives said that Minarul Islam and his wife and children never shared their financial struggles with anyone, not even his close relatives.

‘Even if they had to starve, Minarul never asked anyone for help. He kept everything to himself,’ said neighbour Moktar Hossain, adding that they saw him often wandering about the streets in silence.

Minarul’s uncle Abu Taleb also said that they knew about his poverty but not the debts.

‘None of us imagined he would go this far. Only Allah knew what was going on inside him,’ he said.

Another neighbor, Alal Uddin, recalled Minarul approaching him for a loan just three days earlier.

‘He asked if money could be arranged from anywhere. I told him that without mortgaging land or a pond, no one would lend money. That was the last conversation I had with him,’ he said.

Minarul’s mother, Anjuara Begum, wept saying, ‘My son was so reserved. He never told us anything. I didn’t know he had loans.’

His sister Najma Khatun said that he might have borrowed from a micro-credit organisation, though the family did not know which one.

Sayeed Ali, chairman of local union parishad, said that Minarul and his son Mahin were buried in their family graveyard on Saturday afternoon, while Monira’s mother took the bodies of her daughter and granddaughter for burial.