Meerut, Dec 27 (IANS): A young couple ended their lives by hanging after they performed a wedding ritual in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut.

The couple had been facing family opposition and their bodies were found hanging from a tree.

The bodies of Rakhi Chauhan,21, of Budhanagar locality and Manish Chauhan, 24, of Uttarakhand’s Haridwar were found hanging from a tree in the Bahsuma police station area here, police said.

According to a preliminary investigation, Rakhi and Manish were in love with each other but their families were opposed to their relationship, Station House Officer (SHO) Santosh Kumar said.

On Monday night, Manish met Rakhi, put vermilion on her forehead, fed her sweets and then both of them committed suicide.

They made two loops out of one rope and hanged themselves from a tree while holding each other. Vermilion and sweet boxes were found at the spot, the SHO added.

No suicide note was found at the spot. The post-mortem report confirmed suffocation due to hanging as the cause of death. The two died almost at the same time, Kumar said.

The family members of the man and the woman cremated their bodies on Tuesday.