Greater Noida: Three kin arrested after 5 of family found dead

• Three people, including the deceased man's two sisters and brother-in-law, are arrested.

• Police suspect a property dispute may have preceded the deaths of a couple and their three children.

• Post-mortem findings indicate possible poisoning; forensic reports are awaited.

Three people have been arrested on charges of abetment to suicide after a couple and their three children were found dead at their home in Nagla Padam village near Rabupura in Greater Noida, police said on Sunday.

The accused are Mahesh's elder sister Sunita, 45, younger sister Sapna, 32, and brother-in-law Shekhar alias Chandrashekhar, 50. They were arrested following a complaint filed by a relative, Rabupura station house officer Sujeet Upadhyay said.

According to police, Mahesh, 37, recorded a voice note on his mobile phone before his death, allegedly holding the three accused responsible for the deaths.

Preliminary inquiries with neighbours and relatives suggested that Sunita had allegedly influenced their mother, Chandrawati, to transfer in her name the house where Mahesh lived with her.

Police said Mahesh was reportedly distressed after learning about the transfer and that a property dispute may have led to the incident.

The bodies of Mahesh, his wife Lalita, 35, their daughter Mishti, 7, and sons Sakshat, 11, and Riyansh, 3, were found at their home on Saturday morning.

Police said CCTV footage from the area did not show any outsider entering the premises. Initial suspicion had centred on possible food poisoning, with reports suggesting the family had eaten noodles before their deaths.

However, post-mortems, which were videographed, indicated signs of poisoning, police said. Viscera samples have been sent for forensic analysis, and the exact cause of death will be established after the reports are received.

Teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory and the Food Safety Department were also called to investigate the incident.

Police have registered a case under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with abetment to suicide, based on a complaint filed by Lalita's brother.

Shekhar and Sunita live in Shalimar Bagh in Delhi, while Sapna lives in Khera Kalan, also in the national capital. Police said the three were being questioned.