Bhubaneswar, Feb. 10: A 34-year-old research scholar working with the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) allegedly committed suicide while talking to one of her friends on the mobile phone in the video calling mode at Bhagwat Sandhan in Mancheswar.

The deceased Subhalaxmi Acharya was found hanging from the ceiling fan while her mobile phone was fixed on the window of her rented accommodation.

Police was alerted about the suicide when they received a call from a youth, who identified himself as a friend of Subhalakshmi.

The youth called the police from Nagpur in Maharashtra and told them that his friend Subhalakshmi had committed suicide.

"When we asked him how did he know that, the youth said that he had witnessed the hanging while talking to Subhalakshmi on the mobile phone in the video calling mode. Later, we rushed to the spot and found that the door of the house was locked. We cut the window grill and found the woman hanging. We also found her mobile phone mounted on the window," said a police official.

Her landlord Narendra Sahu said that he was not even aware of the incident.

"A team of police from Mancheswar reached my house and enquired about the incident. The police also told me that they came to know about the incident through a caller from Nagpur, who claimed to have seen the event through video calling," said Sahu.

The deceased had an MTech degree and was working as a senior project fellow in advanced materials technology department of IIMT since March 2013. Subhalakshmi's landlord also confirmed that she had been staying in the rented accommodation for the past two years.

Family members of Subhalakshmi, however, refused to accept it as a simple case of suicide. They suspected foul play and alleged that her husband Subashish Nanda was behind the incident.

"Subhalakshmi and Subashish were married for the past 11 years. The two had met while pursing their diploma at a Chhendipada college in Angul district. At the time of tying the knot, Subashish had taken Rs 6 lakh from her in-laws to buy a plot of land. He neither bought the plot, nor did he return the money. Besides, Subhalakshmi did not accept his affair with another woman and this created a discord between the couple. My sister was staying separately from Subashish for the last four years," said Jyoti Ranjan, the brother of the deceased.

One of her family members said that after completing her diploma, Subhalaxmi had done her BTech from an engineering college in Cuttack and MTech from a leading private institute in Bhubaneswar.

The couple's eight-year-old son stays with his grandparents in Cuttack.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said that they had started an investigation into the matter. The body, he said, had been sent for post mortem.

"We have seized the mobile phone of the deceased. We will also ask the friend of the Subhalakshmi to verify his claim that he was on a video call with her during the fateful incident," said Bhoi.