JAIPUR: A couple and their two adult children, were found dead under suspicious circumstances late Tuesday evening in a dharamshala (inn) near Mehandipur Balaji in Karauli district.
The deceased, two men and two women, were reportedly from Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Police have not ruled out the possibility of food poisoning or death by suicide, but officials said that the cause of death was under investigation.
The bodies were sent for a postmortem examination.
The family rented a room on the first floor of Rama-Krishna Ashram Dharamshala, located in Samadhi Wali Gali, on Jan 12. They were scheduled to check out by Tuesday afternoon. However, when no activity was observed outside the room by 8pm, a housekeeping staff member alerted the management.
Upon inspection, all four occupants were found dead inside the room. Two bodies were lying on the bed, while two others were on the floor of the room.
"One of the occupants, Nitin Kumar Upadhyay, a resident of Raipur near Dehradun, had provided his ID card. We have contacted the Uttarakhand police for more information," said a police officer. He added that prima-facie, it could either be a case of suicide or food poisoning as no struggle marks were found on the bodies. The family has visited the temple in the past too.
Following the discovery of the bodies, Balaji Chowki police were immediately informed and were soon joined by Todabhim police station in-charge and his team.
Teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the Mobile Forensic Unit (MOB) were called to examine the scene.