Anjana, a resident of kholi no 1, Narendra Bhavsar Chawl, Saki Naka, strangulated five year-old Sunita and three year-old Seema with her saree at 7 am. She then doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze.

Neighbours who rushed into the tiny tenement when they saw smoke billowing out of its sole window said they saw the children's bodies lying on the cot, while a charred Anjana lay on the floor. Efforts to revive them proved futile.

Local activist and Samajwadi Party leader, Nisar Ahmed Khan, informed the fire brigade and the Saki Naka police. Anjana's husband Narsinh Kharatmol, a porter at Sahar International Airport, a `compulsive gambler', and, Khan told Express Newsline, was ``busy playing cards at afriend's place at Safed Pul at the time.''

The police found a suicide note signed by Anjana in Marathi, stating, ``I am committing suicide of my own free will. I don't want my daughters to suffer after my death, which is why I am killing them. Nobody should be held responsible for any of our deaths.''

Most neighbours, shocked by the incident, fought shy of speaking about the Kharatmol couple. They had moved into the area only six months ago, and their neighbours say they barely knew them, though, they revealed, Kharatmol's gambling led to frequent spats between the couple.

Confirmed Senior inspector V D Landge attached to Saki Naka station, ``Anjana opposed her husband's gambling habits, and she wanted to put an end to her state.'' No arrests have been made on the basis of the suicide note so far, added Landge.

The residents claim that the chawl is `haunted', as Anjana's is the third incident of suicide this year alone. In January, Bitti Vishwakarma set herself on fire, and in July, Geeta Joshi,staying near the Kharatmol house, hung herself from the ceiling fan.