From correspondents in Uttar Pradesh, India, 01:01 PM IST

Driven by penury, a man in an Uttar Pradesh village Saturday shot dead his wife and three children before killing himself, police said.

'Deepak Gupta, a resident of Balapur village in Rae Bareli, shot dead his two daughters, a son and his wife with his licensed rifle and later killed himself,' district police chief Tarun Gaba told IANS over phone.

Around a month ago, 40-year-old Gupta had moved to Rae Bareli with his family from his native Khaga town in Fatehpur district, he added.

According to preliminary investigations, Gupta left his village to evade moneylenders there, as he was unable to pay his debts, police said.

Rae Bareli is some 80 km from Lucknow.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)