Angul, Feb. 28: Poverty drove a man to kill his wife and son before committing suicide in Banarpal here.

His teenage daughter, whom he tried to strangulate, is still alive and battling for life at the Angul hospital here.

“Acute poverty and despair had compelled him to commit the act,” said inspector-in- charge of Banarpal police station Harihar Pani who found a suicide note on the man’s body. “The suicidal note is very painful and clearly states the reasons behind his action,” said Pani.

Police said that 45-year old Ajendra Kumar Dalbehera of Nuahata village depended on vegetable vending for the maintenance of his four-member family, which included his wife Sulochana, eight-year-old son Chintu and 18-year-old daughter Tapaswini, who is studying plus two in a local college.

Dalbehera’s wife and son were reportedly not keeping well for the past few years and he had to take loans amounting to Rs 1 lakh from various people for their treatment.

Since he was not able to pay the money back, he was under tremendous pressure. Recently, Dalbehera found out that he was suffering from a kidney disorder and needed more money for treatment.

Police have sent the bodies for autopsy. It is suspected that Dalbehera, who was found hanging from a ceiling fan in the house, had poisoned all the family members and tried to strangulate them.

Tapaswini, somehow, managed to survive. In the morning, the villagers broke open the door and took Tapaswini to the hospital. Then they informed the police about the incident.