Bhubaneswar, March 12: The body of a land broker was today found lying on the roadside near Andharua village on the outskirts of the city with his family alleging murder.

Thirty-five-year-old Manas Mohapatra’s body was spotted early in the morning by his relatives who then called the police. The police have detained Mohapatra’s business partner for interrogation. Two other persons, who were engaged in a land deal with Mohapatra, have also been detained.

Police said Mohapatra had recently arranged the sale of a plot for Rs 23 lakh at Sandhapur in Jatni. While Mohaptra had received a cut of Rs 5,500 for the deal, his partner had got Rs 11,000. The two others detained had got Rs 3,000 each.

According to his family members, Mohapatra had been missing since yesterday morning.

“We called him on his mobile phone around 2 pm and again in the evening. The mobile was switched off. We informed the local police and the police control room,” said Santosh Mohapatra, brother of the deceased.

The family members said they got to know from Mohapatra’s friends that he had gone to Jatani for registration of a land. His friends said that Mohapatra with two others had gone to a liquor shop near Bhartapur in the evening.

Mohapatra’s family alleged that he might have been murdered following a dispute over land with his partners. Though the Chandaka police have registered a murder case following a complaint from Santosh, they said they could be sure about the exact cause of the death only after further investigation.

Hospital sources said there were injury marks on the body of the victim which were caused by sharp weapons. Police said the injuries might have been caused by the sharp edge of a vehicle. “We are waiting for the post mortem report,” said a police officer.

On the third commemoration day of the commissionerate police of Bhubaneswar- Cuttack this year, the police commissioner had said that a special wing was to be created for dealing with land disputes.

On March 4 this year, a few men fired at a businessman and secretary of a club in the Nayapalli area over a dispute related to the possession of a plot of land.

On January 24, an area manager of a courier company was shot dead in Janla area on the outskirts of the city. Though nobody has been arrested, the police are looking at a land dispute angle in this case too.