In Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, a couple facing opposition from their families regarding their relationship reportedly performed a wedding ritual and subsequently died by suicide, as per information from police cited by news agency PTI. The tragic incident occurred on the night of Sunday, December 24, involving Rakhi Chauhan (21) from Budhanagar, Uttar Pradesh, and Manish Chauhan (24) from Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The bodies were discovered hanging from a tree in the Bahsuma Police Station area.
According to preliminary investigations, Rakhi and Manish, deeply in love, encountered familial resistance. Station House Officer (SHO) Santosh Kumar conveyed that on the fateful Sunday night, the couple met, during which Manish applied vermilion on Rakhi's forehead, fed her sweets, and then both engaged in an act of suicide.
Kumar revealed that the couple ingeniously created two loops from a single rope, hanging themselves from the tree while holding each other's hands. Vermilion and sweet boxes were found at the scene. The post-mortem report confirmed that both individuals succumbed to suffocation due to hanging almost simultaneously, Kumar added. The grieving families conducted the cremation on Monday.
A separate incident was reported in the Jani Police Station area on Sunday afternoon, where a 20-year-old woman jumped into a canal with a man. While locals rescued the woman, efforts are ongoing to locate the man, according to senior police officer Rohit Singh Sajwan. The woman, in critical condition, has not provided a statement about the incident. The officer suggested that familial disapproval of their relationship likely led the couple to attempt suicide.
