BERHAMPUR: The decomposed body of a 55-year-old man was recovered from the premises of the Rural Development department office in Chandrapur in Rayagada districton Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Ajambila Sahani of Kashipur. Sahani was a class-IV employee of the department. While his family continues to reside in Kashipur, he had been living alone in Chandrapur for the last four years. According to the police, the body was discovered near the office boundary wall after staff initiated a search following a foul smell. The body has been sent to Muniguda for postmortem, and further investigation is on, police said.
Preliminary findings suggest Sahani may have collapsed near the wall around four days ago and likely died due to sunstroke. However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed only after the postmortem report is received, police said.
The incident has raised concerns over the negligence of the department staff as Sahani had reportedly been missing from work for four days. Questions are being asked as to why no missing person’s report was filed and how his absence went unnoticed despite the location of the body within office premises.
Sahani’s son, Rahul, arrived in Chandrapur on Saturday after he was informed about the incident by police. The office staff could not be contacted for comments.