The elderly couple and their specially abled son, who were found hanging in their rented apartment in Kasba on Tuesday, had committed suicide, the post-mortem reports have revealed, police said on Wednesday.
The reason behind such a drastic step was still not clear, as the purported note left by the family did not mention any specific reason, the police said.
“The note mentioned that they were leaving this world on their own,” said an officer of Kasba police station.
Sarajit Bhattacharya, 70, his wife Gargi Bhattacharya, 68, and their son Ayushman Bhattacharya, 38, were found hanging in their home on Tuesday after the police broke open the main door of the house.
Sarajit, who used to work as a real estate broker, had paid ₹8,300 to his landlord as an advance, the police said.
“The monthly rent for the flat was ₹4000, and the contract was such that if the family ever failed to pay the monthly rent, it should be adjusted with the amount paid in advance. Investigations revealed that the family had stopped paying rent for the past two months. The rent was adjusted with the advance. This meant the family had no dues to be paid to the landlord,” said the officer.
The family had no means of earning. They used to keep to themselves and were seldom seen stepping out of the house. Sarajit would sometimes be seen coming out for marketing, neighbours said.
Police said Sarajit’s last call was made to his elder sister in south Calcutta.
Police said they will contact the family members to know if Sarajit had ever spoken about ending his life.
Police have not received any specific complaint from relatives or family members of the deceased.