Bhubaneswar, May 24: A cook, Kuna Nayak, employed in a civil contractor’s household was found dead today at a Nayapalli house, a posh locality in the city.

The cook was stabbed to death. Police suspect a supervisor employed under contractor Sajal Kumar Moulik may have had a hand in the murder.

Police sources said the victim Kuna Nayak, hailing from Mayurbhanj, had been working at Moulik’s residence for the past 20 days.

On Wednesday evening Moulik had called his manager Goutam to discuss work and the duo had talked till 7.30. Afterwards Moulik had left for his hometown Baripada by bus. At that time Goutam vouches that a supervisor, Manguli Paikray, was also present at the house.

Moulik, before leaving, had asked Goutam to take Paikray along to the work the next morning. Accordingly, Goutam arrived this morning at 9.30am and found the doors locked. Thinking that Paikray and Kuna might have gone somewhere, he waited for the two for a while. But later, becoming impatient, he went to the backyard calling out or them and found the back door latched from the outside. On opening it he found Kuna lying in a pool of blood.

Also on the wet grounds there were slipper marks and motorbike tyre-marks. Kuna was stabbed with a small crowbar, which was found on the spot. Police said that evidences pointed out that the deceased fought with the attacker because there were marks of struggle.

It was Goutam, who spoke of Manguli’s presence before the police.

The man, who also owns a motor-bike, had been in the contractor’s service for the past six months. Manguli hails from Pichkuli village near Begunia in Khurda district. Officer in-charge of Nayapalli police station Tapan Pattnaik said the police investigation team has collected evidence from the spot and the hunt for the suspect is on.