BERHAMPUR: The decomposed body of a 72-year-old man, who had been missing for the past five days, was recovered from a forest near Brahmanpadar village under Tarasing police limits in Ganjam district on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Haribandhu Sahu (72), a resident of Brahmanpadar village.
Some locals first spotted a body lying in the forest and raised an alarm. On being informed, police reached the spot and recovered the body, which was found in a highly decomposed state. During investigation, the deceased was identified as Sahu.
Sources said Sahu hailed from a poor family and frequently visited nearby forests to collect firewood. He had gone to the forest five days ago and did not return home. His family members and villagers searched extensively in the forest and other places but failed to trace him. Subsequently, a missing person complaint was filed in Tarasing police station.
Though circumstances leading to Sahu’s death remain unclear, police said it appears that he may have died of heatstroke due to the intense summer or by a lightning strike.
IIC of Tarasing police station Shubhalaxmi Pujari said an unnatural death case has been registered, and the body was sent to Bhanjanagar sub-divisional hospital for postmortem. The exact cause of death would be known only after the postmortem report is received. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
