Bengal man sets wife, son, self on fire; all die

Bardhaman: Three members of a family were burnt to death in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district on Tuesday after a Railway Protection Force (RPF) employee allegedly set his wife, four-year-old son and himself on fire, police said.

The man’s 11-year-old daughter survived as she managed to escape.

The reason behind the incident, which occurred at their house in Mistripara village under Manteshwar police station area, is not clear, police said adding that investigation is on.

The girl told the police that her father, 38-year-old Sudeb De, woke her up at around 1 am and informed her that all of the family members would die together.

She got scared and managed to flee while her father poured kerosene on himself, her mother Rekha and her brother Snehanshu and set them ablaze.

At around 3 am, she called up a relative and informed him what had happened. The relatives rushed to their home and found the burnt bodies in a room.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Rural, Dhruba Das, visited the spot and spoke to De’s relatives and neighbours.

The Inspector-in-Charge of Katwa RPF, Bibek Singh, said De had been working in Katwa for the last five years.