Bhubaneswar: A 21-year-old young man, who was working as a contractual worker at Tata Steel-owned Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) steel plant at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur, was found dead and his body was found buried in a ditch on the plant premises.
The decomposed body of Silu Pradhan, a resident of Khandabandha under Nihal Prasad Police station in Dhenkanal, was retrieved from the under the soil on Friday and sent to the district headquarters hospital in Jajpur for post-mortem.
After conducting post-mortem, police handed over the body to his family members who performed last rites at his village on Saturday.
Police have arrested four persons including one from the victim’s village suspecting their role behind the death of Pradhan.
His family members alleged that he was murdered by fellow workers and the body was buried to destroy evidence.
Pradhan had gone to the plant for duty last Wednesday. Since then, he had not returned following which family members and relatives launched a search and finally lodged a missing complaint.
Family members accused a co-worker from their village of orchestrating the crime. Pradhan’s body was found with legs and hands tied.
The IIC, Kalinganagar police station, Prakash Chandra Sahoo said “We suspect he was killed and secretly buried by unknown persons. A scientific team and sniffer dogs were mobilised to assist in the investigation,” he said.
A case has been registered under sections 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of BNS.
Sapan Kumar Nanda, Additional Collector, Kalinga Nagar said that police are investigating the matter from all angles. More information can be given only after the investigation is completed, he added.
Following the discovery of the body, hundreds of fellow villagers and workers staged a protest in front of the main gate of the company demanding adequate compensation and immediate arrest of the culprits.
The company authorities have paid Rs 15 lakh immediate compensation to the bereaved family and assured a job to one of his family members.
