Lovers from Gadag end life in Agra after visiting Taj Mahal

They hailed from different communities and were in love. Realising they would never be able to unite, they killed themselves. And, for committing suicide, the couple from Karnataka chose Uttar Pradesh’s Agra town, which houses the Taj Mahal, the monument of love.

The local police said here on Tuesday that the bodies of the couple, identified as Rajananda and Gauri, both residents of Gadag, were recovered from a hotel in Agra on Monday.

The suicide note, which was written in Kannada, said they were from different communities and their families were against their marriage. Rajananda was a Marathi and Gauri belonged to the Lingayat community.

The couple had mentioned that they had come to Agra with the specific intention of committing suicide. The note said they were taking the extreme step on their own will and no one was responsible for their death. “They had held their hands...the couple seemed to have consumed a drink laced with poison and died on Sunday,” said a senior police officer in Agra.

He said the couple had checked in at the hotel on Sunday morning and had later left to visit the Taj Mahal. “They returned that evening and were not seen outside since,” said the official.

The incident came to light on Monday, when the autorickshaw driver, commissioned by them to take them on a tour of the town, came to the hotel and knocked on their door. The hotel staff informed the police when they did not get any response.

The couple had eloped from their homes on October 6 and left for Delhi. Railway tickets for Nizamuddin from Gadag were recovered from their belongings, the police said. The families of the deceased have been informed and are likely to reach Agra shortly.