Banki: A youth was found hanging with a rope swing tied to branch of a tree for Raja festival on premises of a religious place under Banki police limits in Cuttack district of Odisha.

The deceased youth was identified as Anil Behera, a local of Sahadapada village in Banki.

According to reports, Anil was with his friends last night and next morning he was found hanging with a rope wrapped around his neck on campus of 'Maa Brahmei' peeth, where the Raja festival was being celebrated. It was found that except underwear, the dress on the body was removed.

However, his family termed the incident as 'murder'.

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"My son has been murdered. At around 11 pm yesterday, he went with his friends on their motorcycle. Today morning, we found his body hanging from the tree with the Raja swing," lamented the deceased's mother stating that she did not know those people who took her son with them last night.

"The villagers informed me in the morning that my nephew has hung himself from a tree. We rushed to the spot and found that his legs are touching the ground. We suspect that he was hung after murder," the deceased's uncle Tapan Behera said raising a doubt "If he would have hung self with the rope for suicide, how could his feet touch the ground."

He demanded for immediate arrest of his nephew's associates, who were seen accompanying him most of the time.

"The murder can be traced if Anil's friends will be apprehended. They can reveal the truth behind the murder," Tapan said seeking justice.

On the other hand, Banki police station IIC Soumendra Sekhar Tripathy said that the exact cause of death will be ascertained after getting the post-mortem report. He said that the probe into the murder allegation is underway.