The blood-soaked body of a migrant worker, who had been missing from Bhubaneswar since February 25, was recovered from the Mahanadi river bed near Bhuasuni under Bidanasi police limits in Cuttack district on Thursday.
The deceased has been identified as Azad Yadav, a resident of Bihar, who used to do house interior works.
Some local residents first spotted the body and informed the police on Thursday. Cuttack DCP Prateek Singh, along with a team from Bidanasi police station, reached the spot. The cops recovered the body and sent it for post mortem. The deceased’s head appeared to have been smashed with a blunt object, a boulder probably.
As per the claims made by the deceased’s family members, Yadav worked with a contractor in Cuttack city. The contractor had called up the Yadav on February 25, asking him to come to Cuttack to take his last instalment of his pending wages. Accordingly, Yadav went to Cuttack on the same day but never returned.
The next day (February 26), his worried family members had lodged a missing report with the Sahid Nagar police station.
“The police had since been searching for him,” informed DCP Sigh.
“Prima Facie, it appears to be a case of murder. The deceased’s family members doubt the involvement of some persons in the case. We will soon trace them all. The subsequent interrogation of the accused will help solve the case,” said DCP Singh.