Wayanad: The bodies of a tribal couple were reportedly found hanging from the roof of a house at the Keechery tribal settlement in Niravilppuzha near Mananthavadi.

Manikkuttan (22) from the Padirimandam tribal settlement in Thondarnad and Vineetha (22) from the Pilakkavu tribal settlement were found dead under mysterious circumstances, the police said.

The pair was reportedly missing for a week. The mortal remains were found on Thursday evening by residents of the area who broke into the house when foul smell started emanating from the building locked from the inside. 

Both bodies, in a state of decay, were found hanging from the roof. The relatives told police that Vineetha was pregnant. The couple from the Paniya community was married in accordance with the tribe's tradition. 

Living together at Pathirimandam, neither relatives nor friends of the couple were aware when they left their respective homes or when they arrived in Keechery. 

Thondarnad police conducted an inquest and thereafter shifted the bodies to the Government Medical College hospital, Mananthavady. The bodies would be released to the relatives to perform last rites after conducting autopsies on Friday evening, police said.

Manikkuttan was arrested in 2021 after being accused in a POCSO case pertaining to the sexual abuse of a minor girl from the community.