Bhubaneswar: The social media status of an 18-year-old youth, whose half-burnt body was in a roadside ditch in Odisha’s Nayagarh district on Monday, has deepened the mystery surrounding his death.
The deceased, identified as Sanjay Pradhan of Kandhameri under Khandapada police limits, had posted the song ‘Aji Rati Gale Pahi Jaliba Mo Jui’ (…at dawn my funeral pyre will be lit) as his status.
According to sources, passers-by spotted the partially charred remains near Balisahi-Erundipathar road under Gania police limits in the evening and informed police. A team from Gania police station, led by inspector Tankadhar Chhatria, rushed to the spot, recovered the body, and sent it for postmortem examination.
A petrol bottle, a pair of shoes, and torn pieces of clothing were seized from the spot.
Sanjay’s mother, Dali Pradhan, lodged a complaint at the police station, alleging that miscreants had killed her son and set his body on fire to destroy evidence. Sanjay had been working at a furniture shop in Bhubaneswar for the past few days. He was expected to return home the previous evening. “The shop owner called me yesterday and said Sanjay would reach home by evening. But he didn’t come. Today, we found his half-burnt body in the Gania area. Someone must have killed him and tried to burn the body to hide the crime,” she told police.
This incident comes amid heightened tension in Nayagarh district following another murder reported in Odagaon area within the past 24 hours.
