Bhubaneswar, Feb. 8: Body of a 35-year-old man was found in front of an apartment at IRC Village in Nayapalli police station limits this morning. Police suspect road mishap led to the victim's death.

The incident came to light this morning after a few residents of the apartment spotted the body that had injury marks.

The deceased has been identified as Sankar Behera, a native of Ganjam district.

"We saw the man lying in a heap of sand. We tried to wake him up, but he did not respond. Then we immediately informed the police," said a resident of the apartment.

Further investigation by the cops revealed that Behera, a daily wage labourer, had been staying in the city for the past six months.

"He was a drunkard and used to roam in the area. So, we suspect that he was killed in a road mishap," said a senior police official. However, cops are also not ruling out foul play. They are carrying out investigations to find out whether Behera was killed and later dumped in front of the apartment.

"We have sent the body for post mortem to ascertain the exact cause of his death. We are probing all angles," said deputy commissioner of police, Satyabrata Bhoi.

Vigilance remand

Vigilance sleuths today took Bishikeshan Naik, senior environmental scientist of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board, on two days remand for further investigation in connection with a disproportionate assets case.

The house of the scientist was searched on May 15 last year. The vigilance sleuths had found disproportionate assets worth Rs 2.19 crore, which included bank deposit of Rs 1.69 crore, in the name of Naik, his wife, and minor son in various banks.

Apart from this, sleuths have found that Naik has one two-storey building at Keonjhar town, one flat at Nayapalli, a Hyundai car and gold ornaments weighing around 200 grams.

Investigating officials said that Naik and his wife had moved Orissa High Court for anticipatory bail.

Though the court granted bail to Naik's wife, the scientist's plea was rejected.

"The accused surrendered before a court on February 1. He has been brought on two days' remand for further investigation. He is being interrogated," said vigilance official.