Bhubaneswar, Jan. 23: The body of a 25-year-old man was found today from the railway tracks near Palaspalli under mysterious circumstances.

The hands of the deceased, identified as Pravat Nayak, a contractual labourer, working with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, had been tied and his legs were missing.

The matter came to light this morning after local residents found the body. The area falls within Airfield police limits. The police said the deceased had been staying with his in-laws in a slum for the past two months. "We suspect that he was murdered and later dumped on the railway track to create an impression that he had committed suicide," alleged the deceased's father Jagannath Nayak.

The police also suspected foul play in the incident as the deceased's wife and mother-in-law were nowhere to be seen after the news of the recovery of his body.

"We have sent the body for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death. We are also trying to nab his in-laws for further investigation," said inspector in charge of Airfield police station Bharat Sahoo.

Jatni rape

The state government today announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the nine-year-old girl who had been raped by a neighbour at Jatni two days ago.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced the assistance from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and asked the Khurda district collector to ensure that the funds were released at the earliest. Earlier, the state government had stated that it would bear all the victim's medical expenses, who has been admitted to Capital Hospital with injuries to her private parts. She had been raped twice by the accused, Ahiraj Nayak, 24, a history-sheeter.

Several social organisations and political parties, including the BJP and the Congress, staged demonstrations across the state, condemning the crime and demanding compensation to the victim, who had been abducted from her house before being raped.

Police have decided to submit the preliminary charge sheet in the case at the earliest. "The case will be tried in a fast-track court. We will also appoint a special prosecutor for the case," said a senior police officer.