Two brothers were allegedly murdered by rivals and their bodies set ablaze in a forest to destroy evidence in Odisha’s Ganjam district. Police recovered the half-burnt bodies on Sunday morning.

The incident took place under Beguniapada police station limits, about 185 km from Bhubaneswar. The deceased — Ajay Barik and Sanjay Barik, both in their 30s and residents of Sumandal village — had criminal antecedents, police said.

Sources said the brothers, recently acquitted in the murder case of a former block chairman of Beguniapada, visited Salabana village on Saturday evening where they got into a quarrel with locals over dada bati (extortion money).

Angered, the villagers allegedly gheraoed them, took them to a house and attacked them with sharp weapons, killing them on the spot. The bodies were later loaded onto an autorickshaw and driven around in search of a dumping site before being set on fire in a deserted area.

Alerted villagers informed the police, who rushed to the spot and seized the remains. A forensic team has been deployed to collect evidence.

“The murders appear to be the fallout of previous enmity and criminal disputes. We have launched an investigation and expect a breakthrough soon,” a police official said.

The area has been cordoned off to preserve evidence.