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A newly married couple allegedly committed suicide by consuming fertilisers on Friday night, fearing opposition from their respective families, as they belonged to different religions.

The victims were identified as Pandu (25) and Anitha (25). They were found dead near the Outer Ring Road in Mahadevapura. A few motorists noticed two bodies lying on the roadside with a bottle near them, close to a saw mill on Mahadevapura Outer Ring Road on Saturday morning. They alerted the police who rushed to the spot. The bodies were later shifted to Bowring Hospital. The police called up the parents of the couple and informed them of the matter.

Pandu was a Hindu and stayed with his family at Dodda Banaswadi and Anitha, a Christian, was a resident of Cox Town. They were colleagues in a supermarket for the past couple of years.

According to the police, a few months ago, the two expressed their desire to marry to their families. However, Anitha’s family apparently strongly opposed the relationship. Her parents reportedly had finalised an alliance for her with another man. So, the two eloped to Dharmasthala two days ago and got married. Anitha’s father lodged a missing complaint with the Pulakeshinagar police when she failed to return home.

The couple returned to the City on Thursday and Pandu informed his father T Shankar over the phone about his marriage with Anitha. The family was critical of the marriage and asked him to return home immediately, but he did not, Shankar told Deccan Herald.
Alexander, Anitha’s brother, claimed that the family members never threatened her over the affair and denied allegations that she was being forced to marry someone else.

‘Very fishy’

Police said it was hard to believe the couple had ended their lives two days after they entered into wedlock, fearing consequences.

“There are many unanswered questions in the entire episode. We will question a few persons thoroughly and probe the matter from all angles as prima facie, the episode looks very fishy,” an investigating officer said. Anitha’s relative John told Deccan Herald: “I contacted her on Thursday and she told me she was in Velankanni in Tamil Nadu. She called back on Friday at 5 pm and told me she was in Shivajinagar. That was the last call I received.”

Anitha’s father Sagayanathan said he was shocked by his daughter’s decision.

“I could not believe my ears when I was told about the incident. My daughter had not told me about her affair. I would have ensured her wedding amicably if she had told me,” he said.

Police said the valuables that the couple were carrying were intact, but they refused to divulge details when asked if they recovered the mangalsutra from the couple’s bags.
The post mortems were performed at Bowring Hospital and the bodies handed over to the parents.