Bhaderwah/Jammu: Three people were found dead under suspicious circumstances in a guest house in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, officials said.

A charcoal heater was found in the room and the trio could have died due to asphyxiation, they said.

According to police, a man informed them that his sibling, who had gone to Bhaderwah, was not responding to calls. Police tracked the location of his brother’s mobile phone late Wednesday night and dispatched a team, they said.

The team traced the vehicle of the complainant’s brother and found that they had booked a room at the Royal Inn guest house in Bhaderwah, the officials added.

After repeatedly knocking on the door of the room and receiving no response, police broke it open and found three people unconscious, they said.

Teams of doctors and forensic experts were called to the scene and the doctors declared all three dead, the officials said.

The exact cause of the deaths is yet to be determined, but Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Doda, Sandeep Mehta, said initial investigations point to asphyxiation.

A charcoal heater was found inside the room, suggesting that it may have caused the asphyxiation but forensic reports are awaited and further investigations are underway, the SSP added.

The deceased have been identified as Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh and Sunny Choudhary, all residents of Jammu.

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