The bodies of two young men were found hanging from a mango tree on Saturday morning in a mango orchard at Govindpur, under the Swarupnagar police station area of North 24 Parganas district, triggering shock and tension in the locality.
Local residents spotted the two bodies hanging from the same tree and immediately alerted the police. While the police are initially suspecting suicide, family members of the deceased have alleged foul play, claiming the youths may have been murdered and their bodies later hung.
The deceased have been identified as 20-year-old Rakibul Mandal, a Class 11 student from the Govindpur Gram Panchayat area, and 22-year-old Raj Bhadra, a resident of Dattapara. The two friends had left their homes together on Friday during Saraswati Puja celebrations.
When they failed to return home by night, their families began searching for them. Rakibul’s uncle said they were planning to file a missing complaint when they received information about the recovery of the bodies. Raj’s father stated that there were no family disputes and expressed disbelief that his son would take his own life.
Police reached the spot, recovered the bodies, and sent them for post-mortem examination. Officials said the exact cause of death is yet to be determined and the investigation is being conducted considering both suicide and murder angles.