Berhampur: The police Wednesday recovered the decomposed body of a real estate businessman who was allegedly kidnapped about a week ago for ransom, an officer said.
The deceased was identified as Sudhir Patra (47) of Satyanarayanpur near Gopalpur. He was allegedly abducted by a group of unknown miscreants at about
6.30 pm April 15 from Dura, near here, while he was going to his village on a motorcycle.
On that night, the miscreants demanded Rs 2 crore as ransom from the family members for his release.
Since then, the family members have not received any communication from the deceased or the kidnappers, said the police officer.
Patra’s highly decomposed body was found in the forest area near Gajalabadi under the Sorada police station limits of the district.
We have rushed to the spot along with the family members of the deceased and the scientific team after getting information about the discovery of a decomposed body in the jungle, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Berhampur Sadar, Subhransu Parida, said.
Though the body was decomposed beyond recognition, the family members identified him from his dress, which he wore at the time of kidnapping, Parida said.
The body was so decomposed that it was possible to bring it to MKCG Medical College here for the post-mortem examination.
The autopsy was conducted on the spot, and the police handed over the body to his family members to perform his last rites, the SDPO said.
The police suspect that the kidnappers might have killed him on the night of the kidnapping and dumped the body in the forest area.
Based on a complaint lodged by the deceased’s wife Rashmi Rekha Patra, an abduction case was registered earlier, and the police searched for him by forming multiple teams, Parida said.
Now we have registered a case of kidnapping and murder, said the SDPO.
Police said the exact reason for the kidnapping and murder incident was yet to be clear.
We are investigating from various possible angles, including the business rivalry, past enmity, etc. We have established some clues in the case, and the culprits will be arrested soon, said the police officer.
