Kathmandu, January 4:

Three members of a family died this afternoon, police said, suspecting that they may have died after consuming poison.

Police identified the dead as Apsara Khatiwada, 27, her son Kishor, 6, and daughter Krita, 4, of Goldhunga-7, Kathmandu. Apsara was found dead on a wheat field near her house in Goldhunga-7, while her two children were declared dead on arrival at the TU Teaching Hospital.

“As we found a bottle of aluminium phosphide, a poison, on the spot, we can guess they died after consuming the poison,” DSP Kanchan Thapa said. Preliminary investigation has revealed that Apsara first fed her children poison and consumed it later, Thapa said. Thapa, however, said the finding needs to be verified.