Bhubaneswar, Oct. 10: Bodies of a couple and their eight-year-old son were found today within a span of six hours from three separate places within a radius of 50km in Angul district, 150km from here.

The two-year-old daughter of the couple, however, was spared by the unidentified assailants.

Police said the body of Biranchi Nayak, 32, was found with his throat slit near a culvert at Pokanda off Athamallik in the district around 8am. An hour later, the body of his 26-year-old wife, Tarani, was found with deep cut marks on her throat near Gambharimalia village within Kishore Nagar police limits.

Though the police are yet to ascertain the motive behind the murders, prima facie it is suspected that the killers wanted to commit dacoity in the house of the couple.

"The man's body was found around 40km away from his house, while that of his son was found around 2pm in a dense forest, 10km away from the spot where Nayak's body was found. All of them were found with their throats slit. We suspect that the accused killed the woman in the thatched house and later took the father-son duo to a distant place and killed them," said Angul police superintendent Brijesh Kumar Rai.

The police further said the family, belonging to the economically weaker section, used to stay in an isolated place, around 300 metres away from the village.

"The incident took place in the night, but no one could get a hint as the place was isolated. One of the villagers spotted the couple's two-year-old daughter crying and later found Tarani's body," said a police official.

The suspicion of dacoity came to the fore as Rs 1.75 lakh is missing from the house of the victim.

"Further investigation revealed that as many as 11 persons, including Nayak, had formed a group to start a petty business in the area. Seven among them had borrowed Rs 25,000 each and gave the money to him a few days ago. During search of the deceased's house, the money was found to be missing. So, we suspect dacoity as the motive behind the crime. We are also investigating whether the deceased had any past rivalry with anyone," said the police superintendent.