Koraput: Tension gripped Kashipur in Rayagada district after the body of a tribal woman, who went missing on February 14, was spotted by local villagers hanging in a forested area on Sunday.

Alleging that the deceased was raped and subsequently murdered, the villagers protested and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

The 21-year-old victim had gone missing on February 14. Her family had filed a complaint at Kashipur police station on Saturday.

Police said the deceased was a divorcee and her family, in the complaint, had alleged that they had last seen her with two youths of a nearby village on February 14 on the occasion of Shivratri.

"Based on the complaint of her family, we nabbed the two youths on Saturday night and were interrogating them. However, around 11am on Sunday, the villagers spotted the woman hanging with a towel in the forest," said assistant police superintendent (Rayagada) Y. Jagannath Rao.

"Details will be known once we get the autopsy report," Rao said.