April 2: The charred body of a rickshaw-puller was found inside a five-foot deep hole this morning, about 10 metres from his rented house atop Kailashpur hills under Bharalumukh police station.

Police suspect that a drunk Bishnu Das, 35, could have committed suicide by dousing himself in kerosene before setting himself on fire after a spat with his wife last night. The neighbours said Das used to quarrel with his wife Minu and often beat her and their 10-year-old daughter Meera.

The police, however, did not rule out possibility of murder and said a probe was on to ascertain the exact cause of his death.

Das, originally from Barpeta, lived with his family in a rented bamboo thatched house of Aruna Das for nearly seven years. The family pays Rs 300 as monthly rent.

“Almost every night we heard them quarrelling and often his wife would complain that he used to get drunk and beat her up. Last night, too, we heard screams from the house around 10.30pm and his wife told us that Das had gone out of the house around 11.30pm. She did not go out to look for him. In the morning, Minu came rushing to my house after she found the charred body in the hole,” Aruna said.

The police found a half-burnt plastic bottle near the body, which they suspected contained kerosene. Das had reportedly taken the bottle from the house.

“It seems to be a suicide as those living nearby told us that he was a little mentally disturbed. We have sent the body for post-mortem and have registered an unnatural death case. But if the post-mortem reveals it to be murder, we will register it under Section 302 IPC,” a police officer probing the case said.

Bishnu’s death has left his family in the lurch as he was the sole bread-earner. “My daughter studies in Class V in Haripriya Bidyapith, but now I do not know how will I bear the expense of her studies,” Minu said.