The gruesome incident came to light at around 8 am, when the milk vendor knocked at the door of the Patel residence at 3/4, Malkani Estate, near Joshi Vidyalaya. Since nobody answered the door bell, neighbours peeped through the exhaust fan hole to find Nathubhai's wife Kantabhen (40), son Hemanshu (15) and daughter Nimisha (12) lying lifeless on the floor. Police were informed, and Nathubhai was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his shop, Patel Provision Stores, adjoining his residence.

According to inspector H Birge attached to Dindoshi police station, preliminary investigations and marks on the neck of the three family members indicate they were poisoned before being strangled to death by Nathubhai. The grocer hung himself after ensuring his family members were dead, Birge told Express Newsline.

A neighbour of thePatels, Ramesh Shinde, said that Nathubhai used to get up early at around 6 am every day and attend to customers at his shop. His absence this morning was conspicuous. Besides, he had been very tense for the last two weeks, Shinde pointed out.

Another neighbour, requesting anonymity, said Nathubhai and his wife were often engaged in quarrels over debtors visting their house for money. The grocer ran a chit fund and gift scheme, which is believed to have run into financial difficulties, the neighbour added.

Though exact figures are not available, neighbours and close associates have put the losses suffered by Nathubhai at around Rs 40 lakh. Nearly 150 members were registered for the fund scheme, and there were more than 300 subscribers to the gift scheme.

Nathubhai had been staying at Malkani Estate for the last 30 years. His son Hemanshi was an SSC student, while his daughter Nimisha was a Std VIII student.

The post-mortem report, which is still awaited, might throw more light on the circumstancesthat led to the death of the family members, said police.