Barpeta, Oct. 8: A 21-year-old youth, Monoj Roy, is suspected to have been murdered and his body and bike set on fire by unidentified assailants at Barpeta Road town in lower Assam's Barpeta district past midnight last night.

Police said the incident took place around 12.45am in front of Monoj's house in Santinagar locality.

However, half-an-hour earlier, Monoj, the only son of Madhab Roy, a middle-class businessman of the town, had called up his mother Reeta, saying he was at Babupara, 3km from his house, with some friends and might not return home that night.

Before meeting his friends, Monoj had closed his father's cloth store, 2km from his house, where he had worked all day. Locals, who were asleep, came to know of the incident when the oil tank of Monoj's motorcycle burst with a loud sound after it was set on fire. They rushed out of their homes to witness the grotesque sight of Monoj's half-burnt body. His motorcycle was still in flames.

An eyewitness said, "I was asleep. Suddenly, a loud noise woke me up. I came out, as did others, to see what had happened. We saw Monoj's half-burnt body. His motorcycle was on fire. We informed the police."

Monoj was still holding his mobile phone in his right hand and his moneybag containing Rs 6,000 was still in his pocket. The police are checking the call details and messages on Monoj's cell phone for clues.

They suspect it is a murder as stab wounds were found on the body.

Sources said Monoj was in love with a girl in the neighbourhood. The girl's family was initially against the relationship, which had led to bitterness between the two families. But matters improved and Monoj and the girl were supposed to get married next month.

Officer-in-charge of Barpeta Road police station, Tapan Kalita, said, "We found the half-burnt body of the victim and his charred bike. The body has been taken to Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital in Barpeta for autopsy. We are investigating the case but are not in a position to declare the motive behind the murder right now."

The police have picked up four of Monoj's friends for questioning.