Sonepur, May 7: Panic gripped residents after the bodies of a youth and a young woman were found hanging from a banyan tree along the Gulunda-Silati roadside under Binika police station limits in Odisha’s Sonepur district on Thursday.

According to sources, some passersby first noticed the bodies hanging from the tree and informed local villagers as well as the police. Soon after receiving the information, police personnel reached the spot and initiated an investigation.

During the spot inspection, police recovered a bag and a pair of slippers lying beneath the banyan tree. All the materials found at the scene have been seized for investigation.

While the identities of the deceased are yet to be confirmed, the exact cause behind the deaths also remains unclear. The bodies have been sent for postmortem examination, and police said further details will emerge after the autopsy and preliminary investigation reports are received.