A 30-year-old woman was found dead on a railway track while bodies of her two minor sons were discovered with their throat slit at her home in Kalahandi district on Monday, the police said.
The woman's husband left her and their children around four months ago following a quarrel and lived elsewhere.
While Bimala Majhi was found dead on a railway track near her village, Singhjharan, the villagers noticed the bodies of her sons, aged six and four years, inside her house lying in a pool of blood, Kalahandi Superintendent of Police, B Gangadhar said.
At this stage, it cannot be said conclusively whether somebody murdered all the three or the woman committed suicide after killing the children.
Police personnel with dog squad visited the village and conducted thorough examination of the sites.
Preliminary investigations indicated that there was some dispute between the deceased woman and her husband but the exact circumstances that led to the incident can be ascertained after a thorough probe, the SP said.
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The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination and a clear picture will emerge after the report is available.
Husband of the deceased woman is being interrogated.