A man, his wife, and their two children were found dead in their home in Rajshahi鈥檚 Paba upazila early Friday, in what police suspect to be a case of murder-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.
He expressed that leaving his wife and children behind would have condemned them to suffering, poverty, and humiliation.
鈥榃e are four, and we will 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 hanged myself. We die because of debt and hunger. Life has become too hard to bear. 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 death,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.