Married man, ‘girlfriend’ found hanging from tree in Odisha village

A married man and his alleged girlfriend reportedly died by suicide in Odisha’s Alipur village under Salepur police limits of Cuttack district. The young ‘couple’ was found hanging from a tree over reasons yet to be known.

While the man was married and has a three-year-old son, it was not immediately known why they took the extreme step. However, the police are yet to ascertain if it was a case of suicide.

The deceased has been identified as Manoj Samal of Alipur village and his rumoured ‘girlfriend’ from a nearby area.

According to sources, Manoj had a love marriage five years back and is father to a three-year-old son. However, he had reportedly developed a relationship with another girl from a nearby village. 

“When the boy did not return home, family members started to look out for him at around 11 pm night. He had borrowed the bike from a friend that was spotted here. So, his friend informed his family that his mobile phone had been switched off for a long time. Family members tried to search for him the whole night, but he was not seen anywhere,” said a local Tapas Jena.

“Later, people spotted him hanging from a tree with a girl today morning,” Jena added.

“We do not know if he was in love with the girl who was found dead next to him. He is married. He was in a relationship with his wife before marriage and we agreed to their love marriage. He even has a 3-year-old son. So, I don’t understand how he fell in love with another girl,” the deceased youth’s father Pabitra Samal said.

“We searched for him throughout the night. Today, he was found hanging from a tree with the other girl. His phone was switched off. This is shocking for us. We do not even know the girl and her address. I cannot say if they have died by suicide or killed by someone and hanged here,” he added.