Purushottampur: Police in Purushottampur of Ganjam district, recovered the decomposed body of a young man Wednesday from a roadside hut near Pandia Chhak. The victim has been identified as Lokman Sheikh, 45, a labourer from Debadaspur village under Samarganj police limits of Murshidabad district in West Bengal. After recovering the body, Purushottampur SDPO Sujit Nayak and IIC Rajesh Nayak visited the site to investigate the circumstances. Officials said initial observations indicated it was a premeditated murder.
According to the investigation, Sheikh had been working as a labourer with several West Bengal workers on a bridge repair project over the Rushikulya river near Pandia Chhak, being carried out by the Hercules Structure System company. A dispute broke out among the workers Sunday night. Sheikh was allegedly attacked and killed by several of his co-workers using blunt weapons, and his body was dumped in a roadside hut.
The decomposed body was discovered later due to the foul smell, prompting police to register a case (675/25) and send the remains to MKCG Medical College and Hospital at Brahmapur for post-mortem. Authorities are questioning the other labourers and company staff involved in the project. Meanwhile, some workers and employees of the contractor company have reportedly withheld information about the incident from the police.