A 53-year-old man and his 22-year-old daughter who had autism were found hanging from an iron hook of a ceiling fan in Parnasree on the city’s southern fringes on Friday evening.

Sajan Das and Srija had left their home in South 24-Parganas, a few hours earlier, apparently to consult a doctor at SSKM Hospital.

They were found dead in an apartment that served as Sajan’s office-cum-workshop, police said.

The cops said Sajan ran a business of selling and repairing water purifiers and
chimneys and had taken the ground floor on rent three years ago.

“Srija had autism spectrum disorder since birth and was on medication, our investigation has revealed,” said an officer.

“Some of Sajan’s close acquaintances told us he was worried about his daughter’s future. Sajan had visited several experts outside Bengal with his daughter looking for better treatment for her.”

The officer said Sajan and Srija left their home in Maheshtala a little after noon on Friday.

Sajan told his wife they were headed to SSKM Hospital for a doctor’s appointment. Sajan even told her a medical board headed by the doctor would check Srija, the police said.

Around 1.15pm, Sajan called his wife to inform her that they had reached the hospital. Not sure how they covered the distance so quickly, his wife asked him about it, the police said.

“After a few hours, his wife started calling Sajan repeatedly. When he did not answer, she called one of his close acquaintances, Ranjit Kumar Singh, and asked him to go to the Parnasree office,” the police said.

When Singh reached the apartment — comprising two rooms, a dining hall, kitchen and two washrooms — he found the door shut but not locked from inside. Stepping in, he found the bodies hanging from the ceiling fan hook. The lights were on and so was the air-conditioner.

Singh called Sajan’s wife before alerting others around 8.10pm.

“Sajan had told some of his employees that the office would be closed on Friday,” the officer said.

The father and daughter were declared dead at Vidyasagar State General Hospital.

The police registered unnatural death cases.

“The preliminary post- mortem suggested the manner of deaths was suicidal,” the police said.