Baripada: A youth was allegedly found brutally murdered and his body discovered thrown near a local market in Udala in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district today. 

The deceased was identified as Manik Singh, a resident of Dholagandi village. His severely mutilated body was found lying in the vicinity of a 'haat' (local bazaar) near Upisahi village within Kaptipada police limits. 

While the exact motive behind the heinous crime is not established yet, injury marks on his head indicated that Manik had been ruthlessly hacked with a sharp weapon. Manik's daughter claimed that he and his wife had gone to the market on Monday evening. While her mother came back, her father did not return home. The following morning, his body was found dumped near the market, she stated, further ruling out conflict or enmity of Manik with any person.

Locals spotted the body lying in a pool of blood in the morning and informed police, who immediately arrived at the spot. Preliminary investigation suggested that Manik had been fatally attacked with a sharp weapon.

The body was seized for postmortem and the exact cause of death will be known after the autopsy report arrives, they said, adding that an investigation has been initiated.