A man from Makulugaswewa area in Galewela has taken his own life after brutally beating his three kids using a rod.

According to reports, he had committed suicide after assuming that his two sons and daughters were killed after the assault.

The 36-year-old was identified as Mihira Nuwan Chamikara, was reportedly upset over a dispute he has had with his wife. The mother of the children had been living apart from her husband for over a month now.

He had also posted a photo of a white flag on his Facebook account last night.

The man had beaten his kids, aged 05, 08, and 13 years, in the early hours of the day, the police said.

His body was later found while hanging on a tree located behind the house.

According to the residents of the area, the deceased is a former army officer, who had been later working as a laborer.

He had been living with his children and the mother after the wife’s departure. His mother, who was sleeping in another room outside the house, had found the three children in a pool of blood.

She had later rushed them to the Dambulla Base Hospital with the assistance of the neighbors. Two of them have been transferred to the Kandy Base Hospital in critical condition.

Preliminary police investigations revealed that the deceased had prepared a three-feet-long rod and kept it hidden at the back of the house.