Husband And Wife Die By Suicide Just 5 Months After Marriage

A newly married couple allegedly ended their lives by hanging just five months after getting married, in the northern Indian state of Punjab. The deaths, which occurred Saturday in the city of Ludhiana, came to light the following day, according to local news media.

The deceased have been identified as Akhilesh Kumar, 30, and Ritu, 28. The bodies of the victims were found in their rented house by Ritu’s sister, a senior police officer said.

“When all the calls of Ritu’s sister went unanswered, she went to the couple’s house and found them dead. Ritu, her sister and husband work in the same factory,” Davinder Chaudhary said, according to The Times of India.

“The couple had got married in June. It was the second marriage of both Akhilesh and Ritu. The probe suggests that Akhilesh was a hard drinker and Ritu would deter him from drinking. The neighbors told police that the couple used to fight almost every day. It is suspected that on Saturday, too, they found and then took the extreme step. No suicide note was recovered from the spot,” he added.

Authorities said they have launched an investigation into the incident. They will reportedly continue questioning the family and the neighbors of the deceased to determine if there was any other reason behind the suicide. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, local media Amarujala reported. [Google Translate]

In a similar incident reported in August, a man and his wife ended their lives after jumping into a river with their two children, in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, on the Indian coast. Authorities said at the time that the couple took the extreme step following family disputes.

The bodies of 38-year-old Kanchi Satish and their 2-year-old daughter, Bindu Sri Durga, were found by police in the river Godavari. During a search, cops also found an abandoned bike, clothes and flip-flops on West Godavari District's Chinchinada bridge. A suicide note found by police alleged that the family had been cheated by unnamed individuals.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.