Baliguda: Police Saturday recovered the half-charred body of an unidentified youth on National Highway 59 near Dandapadar petrol pump in Baliguda of Kandhamal district.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that some miscreants had doused him with petrol before setting him on fire. Some passersby spotted the body lying on the roadside and immediately alerted the police.
Police seized a blade, the youth’s purse and one bottle containing petrol from near the body.
Though the reason behind the death is yet to be ascertained, locals and police suspect that the youth was murdered over an old enmity and then set on fire to erase his identity.
On being informed, a police team along with forensic personnel reached the spot and collected necessary evidence from the spot. Sniffer dogs were pressed into service for the probe. Later, the police seized the body for further investigation.