Bhawanipatna: Panic gripped residents after a decomposed human body part was recovered from the Bimala Bagbanda pond under Jayapatna police station limits in Kalahandi district on Friday.
The shocking discovery was made when a group of local children went to the pond to catch fish. While casting their nets, the children reportedly felt the net becoming unusually heavy. Assuming they had caught a large fish, they pulled it up but were horrified to find a decomposed human limb entangled in the net.
Terrified by the sight, the children immediately fled from the spot and informed villagers about the incident.
On receiving information, Jayapatna police along with fire brigade personnel reached the spot and launched a search operation in the pond to locate other body parts and gather evidence.
Meanwhile, family members and villagers suspect that the remains could belong to Amrita Pujari, a differently-abled young woman from the locality who has been missing for the past seven months.
However, officials said the identity of the deceased cannot be confirmed at this stage.
According to Jayapatna IIC Archana Naik, the pond is around 15 feet deep, making the search operation challenging for the fire services team.
Police have initiated an investigation and are examining all possible angles. The exact identity of the deceased will be established only after the forensic examination and DNA test results are received, the police officer added.
