BARIPADA: Mystery surrounds the death of a 22-year-old man, whose body was recovered from a hotel room in Balasore town on Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Akash Mohanta (22) of Jambani village under Betnoti police limits in Mayurbhanj district. Akash had come to Balasore to appear for the Home Guard recruitment examination, scheduled for Sunday (December 28) along with his friend Ram Singh (21) of the same village. They had reportedly arrived early to collect Akash’s admit card.
According to police, the duo had checked into the hotel on Thursday (December 25). The room was booked in the names of Akash and Ram. However, a woman was also staying with them, who is yet to be identified.
Police said the matter came to light after hotel staff noticed that no one had come out of the room on Friday, raising suspicion. The staff informed the hotel owner late at night, following which police were alerted. A police team reached the spot on Saturday morning and found Akash’s body lying inside the locked room.
Sahadevkhuntha IIC Biranchi Sahoo said, “A team has been formed to investigate the case. CCTV footage from the hotel is being examined to ascertain the sequence of events.” Family members of the deceased, who rushed to the spot after being informed, alleged that Akash was murdered and demanded the arrest of the woman and Ram, who were staying with him.
Ram has been detained for questioning and efforts are on to trace the woman, the IIC said. The body has been sent for postmortem and further investigation is on, he added.