Putrified bodies of a 23-year-old married woman and her 28-year-old alleged lover, who went missing in April’s first week, were found hanging from a tree in the forest in Ananthagiri in Telangana’s Vikarabad district on Saturday.

The incident came to light when a few herdsmen ventured into the interior areas of the forest on Friday following some lockdown relaxations granted by the administration. They noticed the bodies and rushed to inform the villager, who in turn alerted the police.

Only skeletal remains of the two deceased persons were left as their bodies were reportedly mauled by the animals in the forest, according to Vikarabad Police. A purse and a motorcycle were found near the two bodies. With the help of the two wheeler’s registration number, the investigating officials established the identity of the deceased man named Mahender. His family members told the police that he went missing in April’s first week and also took the vehicle along with him.

According to a report of the Times of India, Based on the information provided by the deceased man’s family, the police learnt that a 23-year-old woman, identified as Shiva Leela, from Kotpally, who worked as a daily wager, had also gone missing and a missing complaint was filed by the members of her family on April 6.

The police suspect that the deceased man and woman were in a relationship. Leela had been married for five years and Mahender was also married with children. The two met each other for the first time at a construction site, nearly two years ago. The officials attempted to track them with the help of their mobile phones but could not trace them beyond a point located about a km away from Kerelly. The investigating officials then had suspected that they might have destroyed their SIM cards for avoiding detection.

According to the police, the couple committed suicide on April 6. Some other articles such as milk and biscuits were also recovered from the scene of the offence.