A man and his wife died while their daughter is struggling for life in a hospital after drinking a cold drink laced with poison in Kushinagar, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on Tuesday at Amwa village when Ajit Gupta (35) gave poison to his family members in a cold drink and also drank it.
The family was facing financial problems as Gupta had lost his job during the coronavirus pandemic and police said there was a dispute in the family.
Gupta earlier worked in Mumbai but during the pandemic lost his job and was staying at home with his wife Sindhu (32), daughter Nandini (12) and son Anshu (8).
Local residents said about six years ago, Ajit had encephalitis and since then he faced some mental issues.
Anshu, who had seen his father mixing poison in the cold drink, escaped and told villagers about it, who rushed them to the Fazilnagar CHC, from where they were referred to the district hospital.
While Ajit Gupta died on the way to hospital, his wife Sindhu died on Wednesday morning. The condition of their daughter is stated to be critical, police said.
"Prima facie it seems to be a case of family dispute," SHO Akhilesh Kumar Singh said.
"The reason behind it is a matter of investigation," Kushinagar SP Dhawal Jaiswal said.
