Eight days ago, a local panchayat member visited two elderly sisters who lived alone to discuss an LPG scheme from the government in South Goa’s Canacona district. At that time, he was allegedly told something alarming, although he did not think much of it then. “One of the sisters was unwilling to avail the scheme, claiming she was frustrated with life and that she was not interested in living for too long,” the police officer said.

The two sisters, aged 70 and 73, were found dead in their house in South Goa’s Canacona district on Monday, with the police now suspecting that they could have died by suicide.

Police have initiated inquest proceedings in the case. A purported suicide note and a clinic spirit bottle were recovered from a bedroom in the house, police said. In the brief suicide note, the sisters allegedly wrote that they had saved over Rs 15,000 for their cremation and mentioned where the cash had been kept for their last rites.

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At 9.40 pm on Sunday, the police received information that two women had been found dead and that a foul stench emanated from the house. A police team from Canacona rushed to the spot and found the bodies to be in an advanced stage of decomposition.

Police said the two sisters were unmarried and had been living together for several years.

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said a preliminary probe suggested that the sisters died by suicide four days ago. “During the inquiry, a local panch member said he met one of the sisters over the LPG government scheme, which aims to provide three LPG cylinders free of cost annually to the people,” the police officer said.

Police said an inquest panchnama was conducted and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination. Police said no opinion was given by the surgeon regarding the cause of death in the autopsy due to the “advanced decomposition changes”. “The samples of visceral organs are preserved for chemical analysis. The bodies have been handed over to the family members for last rites,” the police officer added.