Bhanjanagar: A human skeleton was recovered from near a canal at Gudipadar village under Bhanjanagar police station limits in Ganjam district on Wednesday, police said.
Acting on information about the discovery, Bhanjanagar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Deepak Kumar Mishra, Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Jibananda Jena and a police team rushed to the spot and launched an investigation.
The skeletal remains were recovered in the presence of local residents and sent to the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (FMT) at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur for examination and postmortem. Police have registered an unnatural death case (Case No. 15) in connection with the incident.
The identity of the deceased has not yet been established. However, police suspect that the skeleton may belong to a 71-year-old woman from the village who had been missing for about a month.
According to police, Sundari Nayak of Gudipadar village had gone out to collect leaves or flowers near the village and did not return home. Despite extensive searches by her family members, her whereabouts remained unknown. Subsequently, a missing person case (Case No. 29) was registered at the police station.
Following the recovery of the skeleton, family members reportedly identified a saree, a garland and a gudaku box found near the remains as belongings of the missing woman, strengthening suspicion that the skeleton could be that of Nayak.
Police said the identity of the deceased and the exact cause of death can be confirmed only after the postmortem and forensic examination reports are received. Further investigation is underway
