Khairpur police on Friday found four bodies, including a married couple's, in what they suspect are two separate cases of karo-kari ('honour' killing).

According to assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Dr Imran, the first incident involved a couple — Ali Nawaz and Samina Marfani — who had moved to Khairpur from Shikarpur after eloping and entering a marriage against their families' wishes.

Police say they were found murdered in a house. Their bodies were sent to Civil Hospital, Khairpur for a post-mortem examination, which revealed the couple had been strangled to death.

The bodies were handed over to the families after the completion of autopsy. ASP Imran said that the female victim's family did not want to register a first information report (FIR) of the incident, following which the police lodged a case with the state as the plaintiff.

The police official said that during investigation six suspects were identified, all of whom have been named in the FIR, which also mentions two unidentified suspects.

In a separate case, a girl and a married man were found dead at a house. The bodies were found by children, who broke into the house and informed the deceased's families.

The police took the bodies into their custody and sent them for post-mortem examination, which revealed that they had been tortured and strangled to death.

Police suspect that that case is also of 'honour' killing, and have arrested four people in connection with the incident. No FIR has been registered yet.