New Delhi, Sep 30 A 38-year-old unemployed man allegedly strangled his wife to death and then poisoned his 11-year-old daughter before consuming the toxin at his south Delhi home early Wednesday, police here said.

Arvind Kumar, who was found screaming for help in the basement of his under construction house in southwest Delhi's Mahipalpur locality, had only Monday brought back his wife from her parents' home and his daughter from her Mount Abu hostel Tuesday.

The matter came to light around 2.30 a. m. when passers-by heard Arvind Kumar shouting for water. He had come up to the door but could not open it, a police official said, adding that he had consumed 'salphas', a kind of poison.

"He was screaming for water. Some people who were passing woke up his neighbours, who then called the police control room and broke open the door of his house," a police officer investigating the matter told IANS.

"He had locked the windows of his house and played the music on high volume. He then strangulated his 38-year-old wife Mamta and gave poison to his 11-year-old daughter Abhishi," he added.

Hoping to counter the effects of the poison, Arvind Kumar's neighbours made him drink "desi ghee" before rushing the family to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS). All three were declared brought dead, police said.

According to the police, Arvind had been unemployed for a year. He had worked with the department store Vishal Mega Mart and then with a bank.

"He seemed to be a frustrated man and did not share an amicable relationship with his wife. He was not sharing a good relation with his wife, whom he had brought back Monday from her parents house after two and a half months. He also brought back his daughter Tuesday from a hostel in Mount Abu where she was studying," said the police officer.

Police have recovered five vials of poison from his house. A suicide note found by police read: "People have fail to understand me and I have no time."

His elder brother told police that Arvind had not been speaking to them for the past two-three months.

"Our investigations suggest that it was pre-planned. We have registered a case of murder and further investigations are underway," said the officer.(IANS)