The bodies of four members of a family who were brutally murdered in ward 1 of Ram Prasad Rai Rural Municipality in Bhojpur on Saturday night have been sent to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan for autopsy.

The district hospital in Bhojpur could not conduct the postmortem due to ‘technical limitations’, prompting the authorities to transfer the bodies. The Bhojpur Chief District Officer Suresh Panthi said the postmortem would be carried out on Monday.

The incident site lies around 32 kilometres from the district headquarters. The murder suspect, 30-year-old Rajendra Rai, was found seriously injured at the scene and is currently undergoing treatment at BPKIHS, Dharan.

Police have accused Rai of killing his wife and three in-laws using a sharp weapon. All were found dead at their home in Dhodlekhani.

According to police, after the attack, Rai called the authorities himself and confessed to the crime. “I have killed people. Come and arrest me,” he reportedly told police during the phone call. Responding officers found him with a deep stab wound in his abdomen and rushed him to Bhojpur District Hospital before referring him to Dharan for further treatment.

Rajendra has claimed that he acted in self-defence, saying his mother-in-law attempted to stab him first, and that he seized the knife and used it to attack the family. Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police Ishwar Karki, chief of the Koshi Province Police Office, said the case is still under investigation and all the information gathered are being verified.