Bodies of Punjab couple found hanging from tree in Goa, police suspect suicide

The bodies of a couple from Punjab were found hanging from a coconut tree in Goa’s Colava beach on Thursday.

Police suspect the duo, identified as Baljit Singh (25) and Harinder Kaur (17), committed suicide. However, investigating officer Sameer Aldonkar said they were looking at all possible angles and did not rule out murder. He said no belongings or any suicide note were found with them.

Aldonkar said the couple had eloped from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district and had checked-in to a small restaurant in Goa on October 9. He said they had contacted Hoshiarpur Police and were informed that a case of kidnapping was registered against Baljit after a complaint by the girl’s parents.

The bodies have been kept at Goa Medical College and will be handed over to their parents after post-mortem.

Meanwhile, police said the couple were on the lookout for a job and had approached a few hotels and restaurants in the vicinity. “We have recorded statements of the restaurant owners in the vicinity who they approached for a job,” Aldonkar said.

Police are now trying to trace a bag the couple had left with on Thursday morning. “The manager of the hotel where they were staying told us they left with a bag, which we have not been able to trace,” police said, adding Harinder was to turn 18 in the next 12 days.