Facing family opposition, couple performs wedding ritual, commits suicide in UP

Meerut (UP): Facing opposition to their relationship from their families, a man and a woman performed a wedding ritual and committed suicide by hanging themselves from a tree here, according to police.

The incident took place on Sunday night.

The bodies of Rakhi Chauhan (21) of Budhanagar locality and Manish Chauhan (24) of Uttarakhand's Haridwar were found hanging from a tree in the Bahsuma police station area here, police said on Tuesday.

According to a preliminary investigation, Rakhi and Manish were in love with each other but their families were opposed to their relationship, Station House Officer (SHO) Santosh Kumar said.

On Sunday night, Manish met Rakhi. He put vermilion on her forehead, fed her sweets and then both of them committed suicide. They made two loops out of one rope and hanged themselves from a tree while holding each other, he said.

Vermilion and sweet boxes were found at the spot, he added.

The post-mortem report confirmed suffocation due to hanging as the cause of death. The two died almost at the same time, Kumar said.

The family members of the man and the woman cremated their bodies on Monday.

In a similar incident, a 20-year-old woman jumped into a canal with a man on Sunday afternoon in the Jani police station area here, police said.

While the woman was rescued by locals, divers are searching for the man, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rohit Singh Sajwan.

The woman is in critical condition and due to this, her statement has not been recorded yet, he said.

The man and the woman were in love. They tried to commit suicide probably because their family members were not happy with their relationship, the officer said.