A man allegedly murdered his wife and three in-laws in eastern Nepal’s Bhojpur district in a suspected family dispute, local officials said.

Rajendra Rai, a resident of ward 2 in Bhojpur Municipality, allegedly murdered his wife and three other members of her paternal home in ward 2 of Ram Prasad Rai Rural Municipality, said Chief District Officer Suresh Panthi.

The victims are identified as Rai’s wife Manisha Giri, father-in-law Bel Bahadur Giri, mother-in-law Manju Giri, and brother-in-law Sapan Giri. Police said the incident occurred around 1:15am on Sunday.

Rai was also found critically injured with deep wounds to his abdomen and was taken to the district hospital before being referred to another facility for treatment.

According to neighbours, Manisha had returned to her paternal home a few days earlier. Rai had gone there to bring her back when a dispute reportedly erupted.

“The cause of the dispute remains unclear,” Panthi said. “The suspect is under treatment, and further investigation is underway.”

Police teams reached the scene after being alerted late in the night.