Four members of a family, including two children, were found dead in their house in the Pramod Nagar area of Dhule on Thursday, police said.
The deceased were identified as agricultural fertilizer seller Praveen Mansingh Girase, his wife Geeta Praveen Girase, who worked as a teacher, and their two children, Mitesh Praveen Girase and Soham Praveen Girase.
Their bodies were found in their house in the Pramod Nagar area of the Samarth Colony under the Deopur police station area in the Dhule district, police said.
Police said that they must have died about three to four days ago, as a very foul smell was coming from the house.
It is suspected that Praveen Girase died by hanging himself while his wife and two children died after consuming a poisonous substance. The reason why the family took this extreme step is not yet clear, police said.
Despite being a prosperous family, this horrific incident has shocked the people of Dhule. A thorough investigation is on to find out whether it is a mass suicide or something else, police said.
Girase's house was closed for the last four days.
Police said that the woman who used to come for household work also went back twice, thinking that the family must have gone to their native village.
When the people around did not hear any sound from the house even after four days, some people informed Praveen Girase's sister Sangeeta.
Sangeeta reached Praveen's house on Thursday morning and opened the door with the help of people, Praveen's body was found hanging in a room of the house and the bodies of his wife and children were found lying on the ground.
As soon as the information was received, the police administration also reached the spot immediately. The citizens of the surrounding area also rushed to the spot.
All four bodies were sent to the mortuary of the district hospital in an ambulance, they said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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