Haldia, Feb. 1: A 14-year-old boy was beaten unconscious this morning by a mob which said he had confessed to killing his stepmother and her sons.

The father, who, too, allegedly confessed to his role in the murders, was also beaten up.

Khukurani, 32, and her sons Sisir, 12, and Bappa, 10, were later found dead under a culvert at Basudebpur village in East Midnapore’s Durgachak, about 120 km from Calcutta. They were missing since Thursday.

The villagers had earlier enquired with Gobinda Mondal about the whereabouts of his second wife and her sons. “He said he was searching for them,” said a police officer.

This morning, the villagers accosted his son Giridhari, who broke down after being slapped several times. “He told the mob that he used electric wires to strangle them with his friends. The bodies were dumped under the culvert,” said the officer.

The father and son, who were said to be in critical condition, are now at NRS Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta.

Sukdeb Seth, who was part of the mob, said Giridhari told them that he had plotted the murder with his friends. After Giridhari’s alleged confession, the mob attacked Gobinda. It relented after they fell unconscious. Police were called.

Sisir was in Class VI and Bappa Class IV of the same school where Giridhari studied in Class IX. “A long-standing dispute over property may have led to the murders. We are yet to interrogate the father and son. Their condition is serious,” said subdivisional police officer Satyajit Banerjee.

Gobinda, who owned an eatery and a guesthouse on Haldia Petrochemical Link Road, was not very popular. His neighbours believed that his first wife committed suicide 12 years ago unable to bear torture, said the police. After the bodies were found today, the villagers set his eatery and guesthouse afire.