Bhubaneswar, Dec. 2: The body of a youth was found hanging in the compound of a senior OAS official's residence at Unit-VI this morning.

While the identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained, police suspect that the youth, in his twenties, might have committed suicide.

The matter came to light after the wife of the OAS official, Arunachal Das, spotted the body hanging from a guava tree. "My wife first spotted the body while both of us were taking a morning stroll. Later, I informed the police, who brought it down from the tree," said Das, who is posted in the secretariat of governor.

Local people said they had never seen the youth in the area. "We spotted a group of youths confronting each other last night over some issues in the locality. The deceased might be one among them," said a local resident.

The police have started an investigation to find out the circumstances in which the youth had reached the official's residence. "Though prima-facie it looks like a case of suicide, we are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death. We are also trying to ascertain the identity of the deceased," said inspector in-charge of Capital police station Manas Ranjan Garanaik.

The police said someone resembling the youth had been roaming around the Capital Hospital for the past few days. "We are trying to ascertain whether the deceased is that youth," said a police official.

In July, the body of one Surendra Routray, 40, a supporter of Binjharpur MLA Pramila Mallick was found in her quarters at Unit-VI. The police had recovered the body of Surendra, an autorickshaw driver, from a champa tree, from which it was found hanging. The police said Routray had committed suicide due to mental stress.

Midday meal

Idea Cellular, Aditya Birla Group's telecom company, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Akshaya Patra Foundation for providing midday meals to school students in the state.

Around 47,000 students from 625 schools in 10 locations would benefit through this initiative. Its aim is to provide children with nutritious meals and also ensure that they attend school daily, a company release said today. This initiative was launched at the Bijaya Ramchandrapur UGUP School in Puri district and the Khannagar Nodal School in Cuttack district through two events, a PTI report said.