Jaleswar: A middle-aged man who had gone missing since yesterday was spotted dead and was lying in a farmland under mysterious circumstances at Kanthalia village under Kamardha police limits and Bhograi block in Balasore district, today morning.

The deceased was identified as Sambhunath Padhiary, who belonged to the same village.

According to a source, Sambhunath went out of his house for some personal work and did not return home for quite long hours. Later, his family launched a frantic search for him at all probable locations but to no avail. Some locals spotted him dead and informed his family about it.

On being informed by Sambhunath’s family, a team of Kamardha police reached the spot and initiated a probe to ascertain the cause of the man’s untimely death.

Police have seized the body and sent it to hospital for post-mortem.

Meanwhile, the family of the deceased man alleged that it is a case of murder.

“He (Sambhunath) had gone out at around 5.00 pm yesterday. As he did not return till 10.00 pm in the night, we searched for him but could not trace him. I suspect that he has been killed by somebody,” the deceased’s elder cousin brother Madhusudan Padhiary stated.