British couple found dead in India hotel room

A British couple have been found dead in a hotel room in India.

The 28-year-old man and 24-year-old woman are thought to have died of a drug overdose, and were found on Tuesday morning in a hotel room in Agra, near the Taj Mahal.

According to the Metro, officers used their passports to identify them as James Oliver and Alexandra Nichola Gaskel, from Birmingham.

The couple arrived in India on 11 July, and reached Agra on 18 October. They had booked themselves into the Vindhya Residency, and moved to the Maya Hotel at Fatehabad Road in Tajganj on Monday 20 October.

Speaking to the Times of India, hotel manager Ibrahim Zaidi said: "Around 6.45 pm, they ordered dinner. When the waiter went with the food, the couple did not let him in, but took the food at the door. They were supposed to check out the next morning and travel to Lucknow.

"They did not emerge by 10 am, which is our check-out time. A room boy knocked on their door at 11 am. He got no response, but found the door had not been bolted. He went inside. Seeing the bodies, he raised an alarm. We informed the tourist police and the local intelligence unit."

The paper adds that sleeping pills, anti-depressants and diazepam was found next to the bodies.

Inspector general Sunil Kumar Gupta said the cause of death will not be confirmed until the post-mortem report is available but that "the sleeping pill and other tablets in the room point to drug overdose."

According to the Guardian, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of reports that two British national have died in Agra, India. We are looking into the reports and are in touch with the authorities."


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