Chandigarh: Three members of a family were found dead with gunshot injuries inside an SUV in Punjab's Patiala district on Sunday, a police official said.

He said the deceased -- identified as Sandeep Singh (45), his wife Mandeep Kaur (40) and their son Abhay (18) -- were found near Chharbar village in Patiala's Rajpura area.

According to Rajpura Deputy Superintendent of Police Manjit Singh, a tipper truck driver found the bodies inside the SUV, which was parked along the Banur-Shambhu road. When the car did not move even after the truck driver repeatedly blew the horn, he came out of his vehicle to check, he said.

Singh said the police suspect that Sandeep, a property consultant, allegedly shot his wife and son with his licensed pistol, before shooting himself.

The family, who originally hailed from Sikhwala village in Lambi of Bathinda district, have been living in Mohali, he said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, the DSP added.