Patna: Two persons, including a witness in the murder of former BSP leader T.P. Singh in December, were found dead under mysterious circumstances in Gopalganj, around 190km northwest of Patna, on Tuesday.

Ajay Patel, 25, and Birendra Yadav, 50, were lying unconscious on the road beside National Highway 28 under the jurisdiction of Gopalganj town police station in the morning. Both had gone for morning walks.

Patel, a resident of Sareya of the town, was a witness in the killing of former BSP leader of the district T.P. Singh in December 2017. Armed men attacked Singh when he came out of his residence at Subhash Chowk to see what was happening outside. Birendra was a former sarpanch of Sahladpur panchayat.

The station house officer of Gopalganj town police station, Sanjay Kumar, said the bodies have been sent to Gopalganj sadar hospital for post-mortem. "The cause of death of the duo will be ascertained only after the post-mortem," he said over phone.

The deceased's relatives and a few residents assembled at the sadar hospital and alleged that the duo has been murdered and their bodies dumped beside the national highway. They apprehended the involvement of the accused, who were earlier booked in the killing of the former BSP leader, in Tuesday's incident.

"The police are reluctant to record the statement of the family members. They should first record the statement of the family members and then conduct the investigation properly," said Ram Shankar Patel, the father of Ajay.

Gopalganj superintendent of police Raviranjan said instructions had been issued to the SHO of the town police station to conduct a detailed investigation, as one of the victims was a witness in a murder case. He, however, didn't rule out the possibility that a speeding vehicle hit the duo during morning walk. The incident has led to tension in the town.