Worried, he peeped inside, only to find his his son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons, aged 5 and 8, hanging from the ceiling.

The police reached the house in Ambedkar Nagar Colony in north-west Delhi at 9.30 am and broke open the doors. “The deceased, identified as Ashok Rai (42), his second wife, Seema (25) were hanging from one rope, while their sons, Prabhat (8) and Rajan (5), were hanging from another,” said a senior police officer.

Police suspect Rai, Kishore’s son, to have drugged and murdered his wife and children, before killing himself.

Rai, a security guard in a private firm, was “troubled with taunts from friends and relatives over his wife’s extra marital interests”, according to a suicide note recovered from the house. They were rushed to a hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival.

The Shalimar Bagh police has registered a case of murder against Rai. They suspect Rai first drugged Seema and their sons, before killing them. Police said a packet of drugs has been recovered from the spot.

“No injury marks were found on his wife and children, which shows no sign of any struggle. We suspect that he hanged the unconscious bodies of his wife and children. We are analysing the left over food and drinks at the house,” a police officer said.

According to police, Ashok and Seema got married seven years back. Rajan was their son, while Prabhat was Ashok’s son from the first marriage. His first wife expired ten years ago, officers said.

Seema was reportedly not happy with the marriage and officers said she had even eloped with a man, a few days ago. “Ashok went to Lucknow to bring her back and reached Delhi just two days ago,” an officer said.

Police said this was a constant matter of quarrel for the couple. Police said Rai’s colleague said he had told him how upset he was over the matter.