The bodies were reportedly spotted by their servant Hemant Kumar, who used to come to the quarter for preparing food for them in the morning and at night.

Police ruled out a robbery attempt, saying Rs 9.5 lakh in cash and jewellery worn by Harjeet and other items like mobile phones remained untouched.

Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Gill said initial investigations and medical examination of the deceased pointed to the fact that only Rajeshwar was murdered and Harjeet died due to cardiac arrest.

“There was no apparent injury mark on the body of Harjeet. However, Rajeshwar had visible head injuries,” Gill said. “There was no robbery attempt. Rs 9.5 lakh lying in bags was intact. The jewellery worn by Harjeet and other items of the couple, including mobile phones, were also not touched.”

The SSP added that there was no sign of forced entry into the house.

Police said that the couple’s son Gaganjeet Singh lived in Guru Nanak Nagar, where they used to visit him frequently. They had visited him on Thursday too. The couple preferred to live separately at the government quarter allotted in the name of one of their relatives. They had occupied the accommodation for nearly one year.