HOOGHLY: In an apparent “suicide pact” a couple burnt their two minor daughters alive and set themselves ablaze in Hooghly’s Chinsurah on Wednesday night.Surat Ali (42), his wife Rajina Bibi (36) and their daughters Afrin Yasmin (13) and Asiyana Khatun (6) were declared dead at Chinsurah Imambara Hospital.Officers of the Chandernagore Commissionerate said prima facie it appeared to be a case of a suicide pact, several neighbours claimed that there were frequent fights between Surat and his wife. Surat was a peasant and owned some land and a one-storey house in Chandanpur. Police also claimed that he was a mental patient and under treatment.“Prima facie, it appears to be a suicide pact. We are trying to figure out what led the family to take such a drastic step. The family was not facing any financial problem,” said Akhilesh Chaturvedi, the commissioner of Chandernagore Commissionerate.Charred bodies of all the four members were found lying on a bed. An officer of Chinsurah police station said both Surat and Rajina decided to kill themselves and they set the daughters afire before setting themselves ablaze.“It does not appear to be a case of accident, because only the bodies got burnt and rest of the room was not affected. Had it been an accident, the room would have been gutted as well,” said the officer.The neighbours said that they overheard the husband and the wife quarrelling on Wednesday evening too. “There would be regular quarrels between the husband and the wife. Many of us heard them fight even on Wednesday evening. It seems a little strange that they would get into a suicide pact,” said Akbar Ali, a neighbour of Surat.

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