PURNEA: The elder brother of a JD(U) leader and his wife and daughter were found dead in their residence in Bihar’s Purnea district, police said on Wednesday.The bodies were recovered from their house in the European colony under the Kehat Police Station limits on Tuesday night, a senior officer said.The deceased were identified as Naveen Kushwaha, his wife Mala Devi and daughter Tanu Priya, Purnea Sadar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Jyoti Shankar said.

According to residents, Naveen was the elder brother of local JD (U) leader Neeranjan Kushwaha, he said.“Soon after receiving the information about the dead bodies found in the house, a police team reached the spot. The bodies have been sent for the post-mortem examinations to ascertain the exact cause of death,” the SDPO said.Forensic experts are collecting evidence from the spot, he said, adding that an investigation is underway.“Locals claimed that Naveen Kushwaha was very popular in the locality and he had previously contested Lok Sabha as well as assembly polls,” another officer said.Some family members of the deceased claimed that it appeared that Tanu Priya somehow fell from the staircase in her house and died, he said.“They also suspect that her father fell down the staircase while attempting to save his daughter and died. Later, Mala Devi died of cardiac arrest after hearing the news of the death of her husband and daughter, the local police officer said on condition of anonymity.The police are “investigating the case from all angles, he said.As the news of the death of the Kushwaha couple and their daughter spread in the area, a large number of people gathered at their house.State minister Lesi Singh and Independent Lok Sabha MP from Purnea, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, also visited the deceased’s house on Tuesday night.(With agency inputs)