Police yesterday recovered the bodies of a male and a female university student from a hotel room in the city's Shaheb Bazar area.

The dead were identified as Mizanur Rahman, 23, and Sumaiya Nasrin, 20.

Mizanur, son of Umed Ali of Ullapara in Sirajganj, was a second-year student of Islamic History department at Rajshahi University. Sumaiya, daughter of Detective Branch Sub-Inspector Abdul Karim of Bogra, was a first-year student of physics at Pabna University of Science and Technology.

Sushanto Chandra Roy, assistant commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, said they suspected the two were murdered.

Abul Kalam Azad, manager of Hotel Nice International, said the duo identified themselves as husband and wife from Radhanagar in Pabna while checking into the hotel around 10:30pm on Wednesday and stayed in room no-303. They paid their bills on Thursday night, as they were scheduled to check out by 12:00pm yesterday.

A hotel employee named Faisal knocked on their door yesterday morning but did not get any response. He informed Azad who contacted the victims over their room phone but did not get any response either, Azad said.

The hotel authorities then informed the police who broke open the door and found their bodies, he added.

Mizanur's body was found hanging from the ceiling. His hands were tied with a scarf. Sumaiya's body was found lying on the bed. There were stab marks on her body and her face was buried under a pillow, said RMP Assistant Commissioner Sushanto.

Their bodies were sent to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsies. Members of various law enforcement agencies, including experts from the CID, visited the scene.

Police, however, said the victims' families claimed that the two were not married.