Greater Noida deaths: Three relatives arrested as police probe suspected property dispute behind tragedy

Three people have been arrested for the alleged suicide of a couple and their three children, whose bodies were found at their home in a village in Greater Noida, police said on Sunday.

The accused, including two sisters and a brother-in-law of the deceased man, were arrested based on a complaint registered by a relative, Rabupura SHO Sujeet Upadhyay said.

According to police, the deceased man, Mahesh (37), recorded a voice note on his mobile phone before his death, allegedly holding the three accused – his elder sister Sunita (45), brother-in-law Shekhar alias Chandrashekhar (50) and younger sister Sapna (32) – responsible for the deaths.

Preliminary information gathered from neighbours and relatives suggested that Sunita allegedly influenced their mother, Chandrawati, to transfer in her name the house where Mahesh lived with their mother, police said.

Mahesh was reportedly distressed after learning about the transfer, they added.

CCTV camera footage of the area around the house did not show any outsider entering the premises, police said.

Preliminary investigation suggests that a property dispute may have led to the incident, they said.

The post-mortems, which were videographed, indicated signs of poisoning, following which viscera samples were sent for forensic analysis, and the exact cause of death will be known once the report is received, police said.

Teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the Food Safety Department were also called to the spot to conduct an investigation, police said.

Mahesh, his wife Lalita (35), their daughter Mishti (7), and sons Sakshat (11) and Riyansh (3) were found dead on Saturday morning at their home in Nagla Padam village near Rabupura.

Preliminary suspicion had pointed to possible food poisoning, with reports suggesting that the family ate noodles before their deaths.

Police have registered a case under Section 108 (abatement to suicide) of the BNS based on a complaint filed by Lalita's brother, officials said.

While Shekhar and Sunita live in Shalimar Bagh in Delhi, Sapna lives in Khera Kalan in the national capital, police said, adding that the trio is being questioned.