Nadia, 04 August (H.S.): Sensation prevailed in West Bengal's Nadia district after the body of an 11-year-old girl was found inside a locked room, while the body of her paternal aunt's husband was recovered hanging in an adjacent room. The police have launched an investigation into the mysterious deaths.

The deceased have been identified as Santu Sardar (54) and Sumana Sardar (11). The incident took place at Majdia Kuthipara under Krishnaganj Police Station.

According to police and local sources, Santu Sardar worked as a migrant labourer and had returned home about a month ago. After his daughter's marriage and with his wife not living with him, he had been staying alone. As a result, Sumana was often left in his care.

On Tuesday morning, family members found Santu Sardar hanging inside his room. However, Sumana was nowhere to be found. After an extensive search, relatives and neighbours broke open the lock of a nearby room, where they discovered the girl lying motionless on the floor.

The Police reached the spot and recovered both bodies. They were taken to Krishnaganj Rural Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. The bodies were later sent to Shaktinagar District Hospital for post-mortem.

Preliminary findings suggest that injury marks were found on the girl's neck, raising suspicion that she may have been strangled before Santu Sardar allegedly died by suicide. However, the police have not confirmed this theory and said it would be premature to draw any conclusions before the post-mortem report and forensic examination.

A detailed investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events and the cause of the two deaths.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey