Couple found dead inside locked room in Durgapur

Kolkata: The bodies of a couple were recovered from their house in Durgapur under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday morning.

According to the preliminary investigation, police suspect that the victims might have died due to lack of oxygen. Police said that the couple had set up a fireplace inside their room to get rid of the excessive winter chill. They were found lying unconscious on their bed.

The victims have been identified as Paresh Chandra Bauri (52) and Shila Bauri (47). They were residents of Durgapur's Bauripara area. The two daughters of the victims were also found unconscious and they were admitted to Durgapur Sub-Divisional Hospital. After being informed by the local residents, police recovered the victims, who were declared brought dead after being taken to the hospital.

Police said that the victims and their two daughters were in the same room. The couple's son Tapas Bauri was sleeping in an adjacent room, who found the door locked from inside. Despite repeated knocks, nobody opened the door. Following this, he broke open the door and found his parents and two elder sisters lying unconscious. They were rushed to the hospital where the couple was declared brought dead.

Police said that the fireplace, which burned through the night, might have led to the shortage of oxygen in the room, which was fully closed. The victims' son told police that his father had set up a fireplace inside the room on Tuesday night to get some relief from the chilly spell of the winter, but never thought that it could lead to such an incident.

There was no ventilator in the room, as a result of which the room might have been filled with carbon monoxide gas. The victims might have died due to asphyxiation, police suspect.