A man and his seven-month-old twin daughters were found dead at his in-laws’ house in Banshkhali upazila of Chittagong on Friday.
The deceased were identified as Jahed Hossain, 50, and his twin daughters, Jarin and Jasia. Jahed was found hanging inside a room, while the bodies of the two infants were recovered from the floor beside the bed.
Police have taken Jahed’s wife, mother-in-law and sister-in-law into custody for questioning over their suspected involvement in the incident.
The incident occurred between noon and 3pm on Friday at Mawlar Para in Madhyam Puichhari area of Puichhari Union.
Police initially suspect that the infants were smothered with pillows.
Jahed was the son of the late Badiul Alam, former acting chairman of Banshkhali Upazila Parishad.
Local Union Parishad member Saddam Hossain Manik said Jahed’s ancestral home was in Chambal village, but he had been living at his in-laws’ house for the past one and a half years.
Jahed’s wife, Afia Begum, said she and her mother had gone to a mosque in Villager Para to fulfil a religious vow. As Jahed had offered to look after the children, she prepared milk for them before leaving.
She said she later tried calling him but received no response. When she returned home in the afternoon, she found both the main gate and the room locked.
Mizanur Rahman, an official at the Banshkhali Fire Service Station, said firefighters cut through the room’s partition after finding it locked from the inside. They recovered Jahed’s hanging body and the bodies of the two infants from the floor beside the bed.
Banshkhali Police Station Officer-in-Charge Robiul Haque said police rushed to the scene after receiving information and recovered all three bodies.
He said family disputes or mental distress might have led to the incident, although the actual cause remained unclear.
The bodies were sent to the morgue of Chittagong Medical College Hospital for autopsies, he added.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (Anwara Circle) Mamudul Hasan said a handwritten note was recovered from the scene, stating that Jahed was owed Tk2 lakh by his mother-in-law. Police are verifying whether he wrote the note.
He said the bodies were recovered with the help of local residents and that the autopsy process was underway.
The exact circumstances surrounding the deaths are being investigated, and legal action will be taken accordingly, he added.