Banki: The bodies of a married couple were spotted today by some locals while hanging from a ceiling fan in their bedroom at Bheda Ramachandrapur under Banki police limits in Cuttack district.

The two deceased were identified as Dharanidhar Sahoo and his wife Nirupama of the village.

According to police sources, Dharanidhar and Nirupama had married nearly seven months ago. The man was running a sweets shop in Bhubaneswar and was eking out a living. The couple used to stay in the State Capital and had come to the village yesterday. However, the duo was found dead today.

The actual cause of their untimely death has not been ascertained yet, a senior official stated.

On being informed, a team of Banki police reached the spot and launched a probe, which is underway. “It is being suspected that the couple has died by suicide. However, the exact reason behind their death can be confirmed only after a post-mortem report comes in,” the policeman expressed.

Besides, police earlier stopped the cremation of mortal remains at the village cremation ground.

“We got the information that a couple from Bheda Ramachandrapur has died by suicide. The two bodies were already taken to the cremation ground by the time our team reached the village. We seized the bodies and sent them for post-mortem,” Inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Banki police station said.

“The couple had an altercation over a matter, following which they took the extreme step. Based on an FIR lodged by the woman’s father, we have registered an unnatural death (U/d) case No-27/2023. After a post-mortem in the presence of both families, we handed over the bodies,” the IIC added.