A day after a 45-year-old man allegedly killed his two minor daughters and then died by suicide, the bodies were sent to the state-run JJ Hospital for postmortem, where a team of doctors told police that, prima facie, the cause of death of the younger daughter was suffocation, while that of the elder one was strangulation. Kandivali Police also suspect that Asgar Ali Jabbar Ali, 45, killed his daughters and then hanged himself to death as the workshop's shutter was locked from inside, primarily ruling out involvement of any third party.

A three member team of doctors from the JJ Hospital conducted the postmortem of Ali and his daughters, wherein prima facie they have told police that the minor girls were murdered. Ali, a pantographer, had taken his daughters for a stroll on Thursday afternoon, only to never return, wherein he took his daughters, aged five and 11, at his workshop in Laljipada in Kandivali (W) at 1.30 pm.

An officer said, before leaving home at 1.30 pm, Ali's elder daughter saw him writing something in a notebook and then tearing off the page, which was later found out to be the suicide note. Police have also matched the Ali's handwriting to that in the suicide note, which authenticates it. In the note, Ali stated financial crisis as the reason to take the extreme step and had also addressed his parents in the note.

"Ali wrote to his parents that he was grateful for all that they have done for him and that he did not want to burden them anymore with his daughters, which is why he is taking the girls along. We strongly suspect that Ali killed his daughters and then died by suicide as strangulation marks can be seen on the elder daughter's neck, indicating a struggle" said a senior police official. The younger daughter is suspected of having suffocated by taping her up, added the official.

Meanwhile, Kandivali Police are recording statements of the family, neighbours and checking the man's call records, background. Police have primarily registered three Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the matter and are awaiting the autopsy reports, which will shed more light on the case. If found guilty, a case of murder will be registered against Ali.