BERHAMPUR: A 25-year-old youth was found brutally murdered near Dolaba village within Pattapur police limits in Ganjam district on Monday.
Police identified the deceased as Rajat Gouda, a resident of Podamari village. Rajat’s head was reportedly smashed with a stone, leading to his death.
Sources said some villagers spotted the youth’s body lying in a pool of blood in a farmland near the road. A motorcycle was also found lying nearby. Suspecting it to be a case of accident, they informed the local police.
Subsequently, police reached the spot and found that the youth’s head was battered with a stone. IIC of Pattapur police station D R Behera said preliminary investigation revealed that the youth’s head was repeatedly hit with a stone. As it appears to be a case of murder, the scientific team along with sniffer dog visited the crime scene for investigation.
Behera informed that Rajat worked in a hotel in Hyderabad and had returned to his village last week. On Sunday evening, he left home for some work but did not return till late in the night. His mobile phone was also switched off. Worried family members even launched a search but could not trace him.
On being informed by police, the youth’s family members reached the spot and identified the body to be that of Rajat. The deceased’s body was sent to the hospital for postmortem. The IIC said a murder case has been registered in this connection. Efforts are on to identify and nab the miscreants involved in the murder. Further investigation is underway.