Railway staff, wife, son found dead at home in Varanasi

VARANASI: A railway signaling department officer, his wife, and their two and half-year-old son were found dead inside their house at Kashi station's railway colony in Varanasi on Sunday morning.
Additional commissioner of police (crime and headquarters) Santosh Kumar Singh said outcomes of the initial investigation hinted that either Rajiv Ranjan Patel (32) along with his wife Anupama (30) and their two and half-year-old son Harsh had died by suicide or their deaths were caused due to suffocation as ashes of bonfire were also found inside the room.
The bodies were sent for postmortem, said Singh clearing that there was no sign of entry of any outsider in their home.
Patel, a native of Nalanda in Bihar, was transferred to Varanasi in February 2021 and since then he dwelt in quarter no. 29D of northern railway colony with his family.
On Sunday morning, his helper Santosh Kumar Sahani reached Patel’s home to collect the keys to the office room when the doors of the house were not opened despite repeated efforts.
Sahani somehow entered the house when he noticed the bodies of Patel, his wife and his son on the bed after which he raised an alarm.
Cops from Adampur police station, government railway police and railway protection force reached the spot after getting information.
Later, the additional commissioner of police also reached the spot.
Two mobile phones found near the bodies were in aeroplane mode.
The condition of the bodies hinted at the consumption of poisonous substances.
Police said that postmortem reports were awaited to know the actual cause of deaths.