BERHAMPUR: The highly decomposed body of a police constable was exhumed from under a heap of dry leaves near his house at Balisahi village under Purunacuttack limits on Saturday.
Police identified the deceased as Uday Ranjan Patnaik (50). The cops have detained his neighbour over suspicion of murder and he is being questioned.
The matter came to light after locals sensed foul smell emanating from the backyard of a house in the area. On being informed, police reached the spot and recovered Patnaik’s body in a highly decomposed state. A scientific team with sniffer dog reached the spot and began investigation.
As per Boudh SDPO L Routray, Patnaik is suspected to have been murdered over past enmity.
“He was on leave for health reasons for over a year and was about to join duty this week. From the condition of the body, it seems Patnaik was murdered around five days back,” the SDPO said adding, his family has lodged a complaint and further investigation is on.