Cuttack: The body of a 44-year-old woman was recovered from a farmland near her house in Bheda gram panchayat under Mahanga block of the district Thursday morning.
The woman identified as Annapurna Mahapatra, was a widow and living with her parents.
Family members of Annapurna are alleging that she was murdered after being kidnapped and raped by some miscreants.
The deceased woman's father, Haraprasad Jena said, "She went out of the house to the toilet last night but did not return. We started looking for her but she was untraceable," he said.
Some locals said that they spotted the woman's body laced with mud inside the canal in the nearby farmland today morning, some 200 metres away from her house and informed her family members.
Police recovered the body of the deceased and sent it for post-mortem.
"Some miscreants might have taken her forcibly and murdered her after rape. I want strict action against the culprits so that my daughter gets justice," alleged Annapurna's father.
On the other hand, the local police said that it is awaiting the post-mortem reports which will establish the exact cause behind the woman's death.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)