Man found hanging from a tree and wife and child burnt alive in a house in Raigarh

Raipur: A ‘paan’ seller was found hanging from a tree on Friday while his wife and an 18-month-old girl lay charred in the ashes of their house in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district.
A gruesome family tragedy shocked the region, located about 300 km from Raipur. Police suspect it was a murder-suicide but are investigating all possibilities.
The victims – Suresh Kumar Gupta, his wife Chandni and baby Akanksha – lived in Kamtara village in Gharghoda, where Suresh ran a ‘paan’ kiosk. Neighbors told police that Suresh returned home late Thursday night and heard the couple arguing about something.
Police suspect that Suresh stormed out of the house and in a fit of rage set the house on fire, trapping his wife and child inside and then burning him alive. They say he walked a kilometer or two and hung himself from a tree.
Suresh was apparently drunk, but this cannot be said for sure until post-mortem and medical tests confirm it, police said. Interestingly, none of the neighbors heard anything other than an argument. In the morning, people noticed Suresh hanging and rushed to his house to inform his family, but found that only walls were standing. Everything else turned to ash. They made a gruesome discovery of charred bodies in the rubble.
Police with forensic experts arrived at the scene and sent the bodies for autopsy. According to family members, the couple had a good relationship and Chandni had recently returned from her mother’s house. They suspect the fire was an accident. Police do not want to say anything specific until they receive the autopsy and forensic reports.