ROURKELA: Enraged residents of Sundargarh town gheraoed the local police station on Thursday night after a 22-year-old youth was found dead under mysterious circumstances in an abandoned car near Bhojpur along the state highway (SH)-10.
The agitators alleged that the victim, identified as Abhijit Naik, was murdered. Police have detained 24-year-old Bibhuti Sahu, who was last seen with Naik, for questioning.
According to reports, Naik was last seen with Sahu on Wednesday evening and he did not return home in the night. On Thursday, his body was recovered from the front seat of an abandoned car parked beside a scrap shop along SH-10 near Bhojpur.
Sundargarh sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Nirmal Mohapatra said locals spotted the body around 11.30 am on Thursday and alerted police. On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the body. He said Naik had laceration marks on his left armpit and lower abdomen.
The SDPO said during interrogation, Sahu revealed that they were riding a motorcycle in inebriated condition. They met with an accident following which he had no memory of what happened next.
IIC of Sundargarh Town police station Sushant Parida said Sahu, a cylinder delivery boy, and Naik drank together for hours on Wednesday evening and rode the two-wheeler aimlessly. Around midnight, they fell from the motorcycle at Bhojpur. Subsequently, Naik’s body was recovered from the abandoned car while Sahu was found sleeping in a field in Karamdihi, around three km from the spot.
The IIC said before dying, Naik had vomited inside the car. He said it was possible that after falling from the two-wheeler, he walked to the vehicle and slept there.
Police have registered a murder case on basis of the complaint filed by the deceased’s brother. The autopsy report is awaited to ascertain the exact cause of Naik’s death. Further investigation is underway, Parida added.