A file photo of Asit Ash and Mandira Ash
Police said Asit Ash (66) was found hanging from the ceiling while his wife Mandira Ash (64) was lying unconscious on the bed when officers broke open the door of their ground-floor flat. After repeated knocking failed to elicit a response, police were informed at 9.18 am. Residents told police they had heard sounds from the couple’s flat till around 10.30 pm on Saturday. They also claimed a suicide note and Rs 1 lakh were found in the flat.
She returned home about two days ago but had not been keeping well, police said. The other is that the woman died and the husband took his life after that,” the officer said. A resident of the five-storey apartment said the couple earlier lived in Howrah’s Balitikuri, where Asit ran a lathe machine business. Neighbours said the couple did not appear to be under financial stress. “They wrote in the note that the money was meant for their final rites and that no one should have to bear the expenses,” a neighbour said.
They were taken to NRS Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival. Mandira had suffered a stroke a few days ago and was undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital. Police are examining two possibilities. “One is that the husband may have killed his wife and then committed suicide. Police learnt from relatives and residents that the couple had a son who died of kidney failure. They moved to Panchasayar about a decade ago following their son’s death. When no one answered, she went to their flat and found the door locked from inside.
Mandira’s sister, who lives in the same building, called the couple on Sunday morning.
Officers said neither appeared to have external injury marks. “We have sent the bodies for post-mortem, but prima facie it seems to be a case of suicide,” an officer said.