DHENKANAL: The blood-soaked body of a 16-year-old college girl was recovered from Saruali forest, around eight km from Kamakhyanagar town here on Thursday morning.
The deceased girl, a resident of Marthapur under Bhuban police limits, was a Plus II Arts student of Kamakhyanagar college.
Sources said the girl used to commute to her college daily by bus. Like everyday, she went to the college on Wednesday and appeared for an examination before reportedly going missing. When she did not return home by evening, her family members contacted their relatives at Kamakhyanagar to know about her whereabouts but to no avail.
Worried family members along with villagers then rushed to Kamakhyanagar in the night and launched a frantic search. However, the girl could not be traced. On Thursday morning, villagers of Saruali spotted her body in a nearby forested area and raised an alarm. The girl was wearing her college uniform and a bag was found near her body. There were blood stains on the uniform.
On being informed, police rushed to the spot for investigation. Later, Dhenkanal SP Abhinav Sonkar, SDPO Rajani Kanta Samal, additional SP Indulata Paschimkabat and Kamakhyanagar IIC Jitendra Mallick reached Saruali to take stock of the situation. A scientific team and sniffer dog were also pressed into service. The body was sent to Dhenkanal district headquarters hospital for postmortem.
Later in the day, the girl’s mother lodged a complaint with Kamakhyanagar police alleging that her daughter was murdered by unknown miscreants and her body disposed of in the forest. Basing on the complaint, police registered a murder case and launched an investigation.
SDPO Samal said police are waiting for the autopsy report to determine the exact cause of death. No one has been arrested so far and further investigation is underway.
Sources said the girl was staying with her mother and younger brother. Her father reportedly works in Kolkata.