Two teenagers were found dead at Chalnakhel in Dakshinkali Municipality of Kathmandu on Friday.

According to police, the bodies of 16-year-old Arjun Khadka and 17-year-old Mangal Tamang were discovered by some locals. The two boys were friends who studied in grade ten.

“We were informed about the bodies at around 10 in the morning. A sniffer dog along with forensic experts were deployed to the scene,” said Superintendent Krishna Koirala of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range. “The investigation team recovered a bottle of poison at the site where the two bodies were discovered and there were no visible signs of struggle.”

The bodies were collected and taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for postmortem.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Rukesh Pandukar, in charge of Metropolitan Police Circle Kirtipur, said the boys could have died on Thursday night.

“We cannot say for certain if it was a case of suicide. The postmortem report will determine the cause of their deaths. But we are in touch with the families of the deceased boys to find out if they had been acting unusual lately,” Pandukar said.

An investigating officer said they could be dealing with a case of suicide pact, given that there they found a bottle of poison at the scene and there were no signs of struggle to suggest the involvement of a third party.

Incidents of suicide have been rising every year in the country. Even during the first 74 days of the Covid-19 lockdown last year, a total of 1,227 people (16.5 a day) across the country took their own lives.

The data provided by Nepal Police show that a total of 5,124 people committed suicide in the fiscal year 2016/17. The number rose to 5,317 in 2017/18 and to 5,785 in 2018/19.

There are several helpline services run by the government as well as non-governmental agencies to help those people dealing with mental health issues.

If you think you, your family members or friends need help. You can call the following numbers: Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) suicide hotline (9840021600); Patan Hospital crisis helpline for suicide prevention (9813476123); and Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (16600102005).