BHUBANESWAR: The beheaded body of an unidentified woman was found on the city outskirts on Thursday.
On a tip-off from the locals, Chandaka police reached Andharua-Daspur Road and recovered the body from a bushy area on the roadside.
"Initial investigation suggests the woman was murdered and then beheaded possibly to conceal her identity. The body was recovered after 9 am but we are yet to find the head of the victim," said a senior police officer.
The police have also seized some ladies' garments from the spot. Police said the woman was wearing a nighty and prima facie it seems that she was not raped but verification is on from all angles and more details can be ascertained after receiving her postmortem report.
The probe is on to ascertain whether the victim, who was possibly over 30 years old, was a resident of a nearby area as she was in her nightdress or she was killed somewhere else and her body was thrown here, said the police officer.
Zone VI ACP Prakash Pal, Chandaka police station Inspector Debendra Biswal and other police officers are on the spot to probe the gruesome murder.
A scientific team and a dog squad also rushed to the crime scene to carry out further investigation into the matter.
The police are facing hurdles to collect any lead of the crime as the area has no CCTV cameras or even street lights, said sources.
Meanwhile, police have registered a case in this regard under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence).
The incident comes days after a Rama Devi University's student Jharaphula Nayak was allegedly killed by her male friend in the city on January 26 night and her body was dumped near Kuakhia in Jajpur.
The Capital City has been witnessing a rise in murders in the last two years. In 2019, 39 murders were reported in Bhubaneswar as against 40 in 2020.