Not happy with the way their families rejected their love affair and marriage, a young couple allegedly committed suicide by hanging themselves from a mango tree in the Lakshipur village under the Kaliyaganj police station in North Dinajpur district early this morning.

Local people said Hossain Ali, 21, and Rabeya Khatun, 18, loved each other and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. “Their families, however, did not accept their love affair. Both of them were found hanging from one single scarf,” a villager said.

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A pall of gloom descended on two villages after news spread of the incident. While Rabeya was a resident of Malgon village, Hosain, a daily wage earner, was a resident of Lakshipur.

Some local people also alleged that Rabeya had already accepted a marriage proposal from another youth earlier, but that she recently met Hossain and fell for him. “Hossain Ali’s father did not approve of his son’s relationship with the girl. Both went missing yesterday evening, and their bodies were found hanging near a railway level crossing at Lakshipur,” another villager said.

IIC of the Kaliyaganj police station, BB Roy, said the bodies have been sent to the Raiganj district hospital for a post-mortem. “We are investigating the case and trying to ascertain the actual motive behind the incident,” Mr Roy said.