Patiala, July 5 -- Distressed by marital discord, a couple from Patiala district's Nabha block ended their lives in separate incidents hours apart, leaving three young children behind.

The man was found hanging at his home in Srinagar village, while the woman jumped into Bhakra Canal.

According to police, the deceased, both in their 40s, had a domestic quarrel last week.

Perturbed, on June 29, the woman left home with their three children for her maternal home in Anandpur Sahib, Rupnagar district. But she reportedly left the children at a gurdwara in Fatehgarh Sahib and disappeared. The children, after spending a night at the gurdwara, reached their maternal grandparents' home on June 30.

In an effort to bring his wife back and resolv...