A shocking case of a man killing his family before committing suicide himself came to light in Garhwa district on Monday.

The body of a 30-year-old man was found hanging from a tree in Raksi village under Dhukri police station area of Garhwa district. Police also recovered the bodies of his wife and two daughters from a well nearby, whom he allegedly killed before hanging himself.

A suicide note written in Hindi was also recovered from the spot which said, “Kisi ka koi dosh nahi hai. Hum apne parivar ke sath jaan gavane ka faisla liye hain” (No one is to be blamed. I have decided to end my life with my family). The deceased have been identified as Shiv Kumar Baitha (30), his wife Babita Devi (26), daughters Tanya Kumari (10) and Shreya Kumari (6).

The case came to light when Baitha’s mother stepped out of the house early morning on Monday and saw her son’s body hanging from a tree. Soon, the villagers assembled and started looking for the wife and daughters, who were missing too. Intially, only the body of the younger daughter was found but later, the villagers managed to pull out all the three bodies from the well.

Police informed that head of the family, Shiv Kumar Baitha, killed his wife and two daughters, dumped their bodies in the well before hanging himself to a guava tree. “We have found a suicide note which will be investigated,” said Garhwa SP Shivani Tiwari.

While the police did recover a suicide note, the reason for the family to take this step was not clarified. However, it is being speculated that the Baitha took the drastic step due to ill health and huge debts. However, whom he has borrowed money from is not clear.

Baitha was supposed to visit Ranchi on Monday for treatment, before which he took this drastic step.

"We are investigating the case from the angle of suicide as well as murder. The bodies have been sent to the Garhwa Sadar hospital for autopsy to ascertain the cause of death,” the SP said.