West Bengal man kills wife, three children at Darbhanga poultry farm

Darbhanga: A man from West Bengal allegedly killed his wife and three young children with an iron rod at a poultry farm in Darbhanga district on Tuesday morning following a domestic dispute, police said.The accused, Sandeep Das, allegedly attacked his wife Phool Kumari Das, 35, sons Hriday Das, 7, and Rohan Das, 5, and daughter Soranda Das, 6, at Chandanpatti village under the Pator police station area.Police said the family originally belonged to Dalkhola in West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district and had been living at the poultry farm, where both husband and wife worked.SHO of Pator police station, Chandra Bhushan, said an argument broke out between the couple on Tuesday morning, after which Sandeep allegedly attacked the family in a fit of rage.“He killed his wife and three children with an iron rod and later injured himself. He is undergoing treatment at Darbhanga Medical College Hospital,” the SHO said.All four bodies were sent to the hospital for post-mortem examination.According to police, the couple frequently quarrelled over financial problems and family issues.A woman working at the poultry farm said other labourers were feeding chickens when the incident took place. The children reportedly raised an alarm after witnessing the assault, following which workers rushed to the spot, but the victims had already died.Maternal uncle of the deceased children, Mangru Das, said the couple often fought over money.“He remained under stress because of low income and they regularly quarrelled over expenses and sharing of money,” Mangru said.Another woman worker at the farm said Sandeep had returned from his ancestral village only a week ago. She claimed he often suspected his wife of trying to poison him, though Phool Kumari had denied the allegation.Senior police officers, including the SSP, city SP and sadar SDPO, visited the spot after the incident. A forensic science laboratory (FSL) team collected blood samples and police are examining CCTV footage from the poultry farm.