Koksara: A man died and his sister-in-law (wife’s younger sister) became critical today after both of them consumed poison in Palaspani village under Dharamgarh block and Koksara police limits in Kalahandi district.

The deceased was identified as Tulasiram Naik and the woman was identified as Sunita Bodkia. Sunita belongs to Dahigaon village in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

According to a source, Tulasiram and Sunita were married and were having their respective families. However, they were in love with each other for the past several years. The love couple had recently eloped on Tuesday night. Following which, their families called a meeting earlier in the day to resolve the issue. All of a sudden, they went away from the meeting site on the pretext of mutual discussion and later consumed poison.

The two families rescued the love couple and admitted them to the sub-divisional hospital (SDH) in Dharamgarh in critical condition for treatment. They were shifted to the district headquarters hospital (DHH) in Bhawanipatna town after their conditions deteriorated.

Doctors at the health facility declared Tulasiram ‘dead’ when he was undergoing treatment.