Bhubneswar: A 30-year-old working woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Chandrasekharpur on Friday morning.

A male friend of the deceased, Jigyansha Mishra, claimed she died after falling off the balcony of his third floor apartment, the deceased's father alleged his daughter had been pushed to death.

Police said that the man, Shashank Chandrabanshi, a sales manager with a private company, claimed she had fallen off the terrace after partying with him last night.

"He told us both of them were in the house after the party. However, later, he found her lying on the ground and rushed her to a nearby hospital from where he took her to Capital Hospital where she was declared dead. He also claimed that he called her father and returned to his house after the father reached Capital Hospital," said a police official.

Investigation has revealed both Shashank and Mishra were married. While the husband of the deceased had been staying in Hyderabad for the past few months, Shashank's wife had gone to her native place in Chhattisgarh a few weeks ago.

CCTV footage obtained from the entrance of the apartment complex showed Shashank coming home in a car in evening and going out after 3am.

Shashank returned after an hour and finally left the apartment on his scooter in the early hours after leaving his car there.

The police said that they came to know about the death from the father of the deceased who stays in the same area.

"We have registered a case of murder on the basis of a complaint filed by the deceased's father who said that she might have been pushed from the terrace. We have detained the man and are questioning him," said deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo.

The husband of the deceased, Abhisek Parmanik, demanded a thorough probe into the incident.

"I came to know about the matter on Friday morning from my father-in-law. I have not spoken to her for the past few months after our relationship had become strained. However, the police should conduct a thorough probe to ascertain the circumstances leading to her death," said Parmanik.