Rourkela: A 24-year-old man and his 21-year-old wife were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their home in Khamtarai village under Khariar police limits on Tuesday, prompting an investigation. The deceased were identified as Sankirtan Gahir and his wife, Subhadra Gahir. Police said the couple had been married for about two years and had no children.According to police, Sankirtan’s parents, Ramlal Gahir and his wife, had spent Monday night at their tiffin shop near the house, while the couple slept inside their room. On Tuesday morning, when the parents returned and received no response after repeatedly knocking on the door, Ramlal, accompanied by a neighbour, entered the house through the roof.Inside, they found Subhadra hanging in the verandah with a rope around her neck, while Sankirtan was lying dead on a cot in a room. The incident was immediately reported to local sarpanch Jitu Kumbhar, who alerted the police.A team from Khariar police station, along with a scientific team, reached the spot and examined the house. Police seized a glass found near the cot where Sankirtan’s body was lying. The bodies were sent for postmortem and later handed over to the family.Preliminary inquiry revealed that Sankirtan, the only son of his parents, frequently consumed alcohol. Investigators suspect the couple may have had a quarrel late on Monday night. Police are examining the possibility that Sankirtan was poisoned and that Subhadra later died by suicide, though the exact sequence of events is yet to be established.“We have registered an unnatural death case and are investigating the circumstances leading to the deaths. We are awaiting the postmortem report, which will help ascertain the cause of death,” said S Naik, inspector-in-charge of Khariar police station.