Five members of a family, including two children, were found dead at their home at a village in South Dinajpur district on Sunday.

Police suspect Anu Burman, 33, a farmer and sole breadwinner of the family in Jamalpur village under Tapan police station, murdered his mother, wife and two daughters before taking his own life.

South Dinajpur SP Debarshi Dutta said primary probe revealed Anu was suffering from cancer and was depressed. “It appears that he murdered the other four and then committed suicide. A probe is on. We are waiting for autopsy reports,” Dutta said.

On Sunday morning, some workers hired by Anu to harvest paddy on his field came to his house and called out for him before heading for work. When no one responded, they became curious.

One of the farmhands scaled the boundary wall and entered the house to see the body of Anu hanging from the ceiling. The bodies of his mother Ulubala, 60, wife Mallika, 28, and daughters Beauty and Snigdha aged 10 and 6, lay nearby with multiple injury marks.

A police officer said Anu had been undergoing cancer treatment and had sold a major part of his ancestral land to fund it. “Recently, he was finding it tough to arrange money for treatment. Also, he was the only breadwinner in the family. We have initiated a probe and are exploring all possible angles,” the police officer said.

Many of Anu’s relatives and neighbours refused to buy the murder-suicide theory and said that Anu couldn’t have taken such a step.

“We suspect all five were murdered. Anu was a calm and quiet man. We can’t believe he took such a step,” said neighbour Gautam Burman.