Hiralal Singh, a boatman, returned home late in the evening and entered into an altercation with his wife.

According to locals, Singh first killed his wife Tulika (26) with a scythe and dumped her body in a nearby pond. Later, he took his four-year-old daughter Bristi to a nearby forest where he strangulated her to death and then hung himself from a nearby tree.

The incident occurred late in the night and the police came to know in the morning. All the three bodies have been recovered and sent for postmortem.

According to the neighbours, Singh was in debt and was continuously hounded by money lenders.

Officer in-charge of Neturia police station Sukanta Banerjee said the man was an alcoholic and had a habit of gambling.

“We have come to know that there was a puja at his home and he had promised to bring a goat home for sacrifice,” said Banerjee.

“When he reached home after losing money in gambling he picked a fight with his wife and in rage attacked her with a sharp weapon and killed her,” he added.