A couple was murdered mercilessly at Bajani in Simara Sub-Metropolitan City-3 of Jitpur, Bara district on Friday.

The deceased have been identified as Deepak Subedi, 35, and his wife Deepika, 32.

Deepika was raped. She was found dead without clothes in her room.

Police said the body of Deepak was found 50 metres away from the cowshed where the couple had been living for the past few years. The duo was hit with bamboo sticks on their heads, according to local Krishna Khanal.

The identities of the miscreants have not been established yet, police said.

The incident occurred while they were sleeping in the barn last night.

DSP Raj Kumar Baidawar informed that the investigation will be started soon after bringing a sniffer dog from the Regional Police Office, Hetauda. He added that police have cordoned off the incident site.

The victims’ mother and two daughters are living in a house at Bajani.

A police officer deployed in the incident site for the investigation suspected that the couple might have been murdered while trying to save Deepika from gang rape.

“The persons involved in the incident will be booked at the earliest,” he said.

A pall of gloom descended in the village and locals are left panic-stricken due to the incident.