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 rumored ‘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 this 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 hung here,” he added.