A sub-inspector of police allegedly shot dead his parents with his service revolver before trying to kill himself in Jhargram during the early hours of Thursday.

Debabrata Chattopadhyay, 62, and his wife Shampa Chattopadhyay, 50, died on the spot.

Joydeep Chattopadhyay, 32, attached to the Jungle Mahal battalion, was found with critical bullet injuries and rushed to Jhargram district hospital. He was later shifted to SSKM Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta. His parents were also taken to the Jhargram hospital, where doctors declared them brought-dead.

The shocking incident unfolded at a single-storey rented house near Raghunathpur Gouriya Math in Jhargram town, close to the police lines.

Jhargram superintendent of police Arijit Sinha said: “It appears that the police officer killed his parents. But the reason behind such a step couldn’t be immediately ascertained. There were bullet injuries on the bodies of the deceased persons and the injured policeman.”

The investigators recovered a “suicide note” from the house, apparently written by Joydeep, who claimed responsibility for his parents’ deaths. Some colleagues said he had been suffering from depression, worsened by his parents’ recent illnesses. The unmarried officer, originally from Asansol, had been living with his parents in Jhargram.