The incident came to light when neighbours saw smoke billowing out of the house of the accused Malkiyat Singh, a property dealer, on Wednesday morning. Soon, villagers informed the police.
Malkiat Singh had set fire to two trunks, one containing clothes and blankets, and the other one containing the bodies of the woman and her two kids. He also set fire to portions of his house, to create an effect of a fire mishap.
When neighbours dragged out both the trunks, one of the trunks yielded the three charred bodies.
Amarjit's family alleged that Malkiat Singh was involved in an illicit love affair with a woman Mamata, whose husband died several years ago. It was because of this illicit relationship that the couple used to quarrel and on Tuesday night, Amarjit killed his wife and two kids, alleged Amarjit's brother.
Amarjit's family had recently given him Rs 5 lakh to bail him out of losses in property deals.
Police have registered a murder case against Malkiyat Singh, the accused, his father Bhagat Singh and two others, including Mamata on the complaint of Randhir Singh, Amarjit's brother.
Randhir Singh told the police that his sister was married to Malkiyat in 2010 and the accused was having an illicit affair with Mamata. Randhir said Malkiyat used to often beat his sister and demand money.
