Uttar Pradesh: Mother, three kids found dead in trans-Ganga village home

ALLAHABAD: A 35-year-old widow and her three minor daughters were found dead at their Aswa Daudpur village home in trans-Ganga area, 40km from the district headquarters, on Thursday morning.
While circumstantial evidence and preliminary investigation indicate that Manju Devi, a bidi worker, committed suicide with her children, Priya (8), Annu (6) and Ritika (4), police are waiting for autopsy reports to confirm the same.
Parents of the woman have accused her two brothers-in-law, Mahesh and Dinesh, of harassing her since her husband Ramesh Bharatiya passed away four years ago. Following claims of abetment and even murder, police have detained Mahesh and Manju’s father-in-law Shri Nath for questioning.
SSP Satyarth Anirudh Pankaj, who inspected the scene along with SP (trans-Ganga), however, said there were no external marks of injury on the bodies and all household items were in place, suggesting no forced entry.
Neighbours told police that Manju and her children were last seen at a dinner at a local villager’s home on Wednesday. “When the kids did not come out to play this morning, neighbours became curious. Some peeped through a window and found the girls lying unresponsive on two separate cots. They broke in and found Manju on the floor, lifeless too,” the SSP said.
Demanding immediate action, family members blocked vehicles when police tried to take the bodies away for postmortem examination. They relented after senior officers intervened and promised thorough investigations.
SSP Pankaj said forensic experts were working on the case and both abetment to suicide and murder angles would be probed.