Jamshedpur, Nov. 6: The bullet-ridden body of a college student was found lying at Ghagidih under Bagbera police station area early this morning.

The victim was identified as Rupesh Kuntia (19), an intermediate student of Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial College, Karandih.

Although the police have no definite clue, they suspect the murder to be related to a love affair.

A resident of Gitta Jhopri Bustee in suburban Bagbera, Rupesh had reportedly gone on a joyride on his motorcycle with his girlfriend to attend a Sohrai festival at Parsudih.

On the way back home, he dropped by his girlfriend’s house at Karandih for dinner. But he did not reach home. In the morning, his body was found lying in a pool of blood on a mud road at Ghagidih under police station.

Rupesh had been shot dead. But his motorbike lying beside his body suggested that the murder was not related to robbery.

As the police recovered the body and news reached the victim’s girlfriend, she gave an account to the police describing the time she had spent with the victim last evening.

According to police sources, the girlfriend’s younger sister was also with the two of them last evening. The police are talking to a number of youngsters and friends of the victim. The police are also grilling the girl in question, to solve the mystery behind the murder.

The officer-in-charge, Bagbera police station, Abid Khan, said: “Prima facie, this appears to be a murder triggered by a love affair. Maybe there was an angle of triangular love. But things will be clear soon, as we dig into the case.”

“This may be an outcome of a rivalry over a love triangle. An angle of contract killing cannot be ruled out. But the mystery behind the murder is suspected to have cropped up due to the dispute over a girl,” asserted a senior police officer, while claiming that the investigation was still at a preliminary stage.

Informing about the investigation, the police officer said they have recovered some contraceptives from the possession of the murder victim, who was also a budding boxer.

A post-mortem was conducted during the day. During the post-mortem, the forensic doctor recovered a bullet from the chest of the victim.

According to a preliminary autopsy report, the death was caused by excessive bleeding caused by a gunshot injury.

In this connection, the police have registered a case of murder and conspiracy against unknown persons on the statement of Ramu Kuntia, the father of the deceased.