Pampa Ghosh, 35, and Pintu Debnath, 28, who could not marry because of the difference in their ages, hanged themselves with the same rope in a garage at Sonarpur, on the southern fringes of the city, on Sunday night.

Pintu and Pampa, both residents of Sahebpara, in Sonarpur, knew each other since childhood. However, Pintu?s family was strictly against the match.

Pampa got married 13 years ago in the neighbouring Baikunthapur area and had a daughter from the marriage. ?The marriage broke Pintu?s heart, who was a teenager at the time,? said Pintu?s friend Samir Das.

?However, the relationship continued even after the marriage and whenever Pampa used to visit her parents? house, she would meet Pintu,? said an officer of Sonarpur police station. Pintu ran a motor repair workshop in the locality.

?Later, her husband came to know of the relationship and asked Pampa not to meet Pintu again,? the officer said. But Pampa refused to oblige and continued to see her boyfriend.

Her marriage was in jeopardy and she finally got a divorce from her husband.

Thereafter, Pampa came to stay with her parents, along with her seven-year-old daughter. The relationship between the two took off again and six months ago, Pintu told Pampa?s family that he wanted to marry her.

?We did not have any problem but Pintu?s family raised objections,? said Bablu Halder, a cousin of Pampa?s, ?because she was a divorcee and to top it, already had a child by her previous marriage.?

Pampa and Pintu went missing on Sunday night. ?Pampa left the house amidst heavy rain. When we asked her where she was going, she did not reply,? said Halder.

Both families became alarmed after they did not return in the morning. A complaint was lodge with the police and a search started.

The mechanics of Pintu?s garage were the first ones to discover the couple hanging from the beam when they opened the door, said police.