Days after an Indian Navy sailor and his family were found dead at their Mumbai residence, the police suspect he killed his wife and children on August 14, destroyed evidence, and allegedly died by suicide a day later.

The bodies of Purnamal Mehra, his wife Oma, and their children, aged three and two months, were found inside their Navy Nagar residence on August 15. The condition of the bodies led the police to conclude that Oma and the children may have died before Mehra.

The police also believe that Mehra washed his residence before his death. “We suspect that he cleaned the house, cleared the garbage bin, formatted his and his wife’s phones and placed the bodies on the bed,” an official from Cuffe Parade police station said.

The police are now trying to retrieve data from the electronic devices. “The data might be crucial for the ongoing investigation,” the official added.

The police are also waiting for the final post-mortem report to determine the cause of death to initiate a First Information Report against Mehra. “We suspect that he used a pillow to strangle the two-month-old baby. The three-year-old and his wife were probably poisoned,” the official said.

The police had registered an accidental death report after finding the bodies. During the investigation, it was revealed that Mehra had killed his family at least 24 hours before allegedly dying by suicide. The police noted that the wife and children’s bodies had begun decomposing, while Mehra’s had not.

According to the police, Mehra was suffering from depression and was under treatment. His siblings had reportedly cut ties with him over monetary and property disputes.

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The police have recorded the statements of eight people. “We are trying to establish the exact timeline of the events. A person from Navy Nagar, who reached on the spot on August 15, told us that his residence was locked from inside and the door was later broken open as nobody responded,” the official said.