A couple in their 40s were found dead in their rented flat in Nayapatty on the fringes of Salt Lake on Wednesday, police said.

Officers suspect the couple — Debashis Dasgupta, 45, and Shrutidipta Guha Biswas, 40 — lost their jobs at a Chennai-based company.

An officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said they received an alert from residents of Vasundhara Housing Complex that a couple who had moved into flat number B2 of the complex had not opened their door since morning.

“The first alert came from the help engaged by the couple. As they did not open the door even after repeated knocks, the help alerted the caretaker of the complex. The caretaker got in touch with other residents, who in turn alerted us,” the officer said.

A team from Sector V police station went to the complex and broke open the door. Debashis was found hanging from the ceiling fan in one of the rooms and Shrutidipta was lying in the bedroom.

The police team took the two to Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital, where they were declared dead.

Another officer of the commissionerate said an initial forensic probe revealed that Debashis had strangulated Shrutidipta before killing himself.

“We have started a probe and got to know that the couple had learnt about the flat through a mobile app. Both of them used to work at a Chennai-based company and it seems they lost their jobs. They did not interact much with neighbours,” said the officer.