Bhubaneswar, Jan. 6: Police have suspected that the 59-year-old assistant general manager of the Vizag Steel, I.S. Prasad Rao, whose body was found near the Sainik School at VSS Nagar yesterday, had fallen into a trap.

Rao had come to the city to fix a bride for his younger son, Balagangadhar, who assisted him in his real estate business.

The deceased's family members had told the police that their father was to meet one Koteswar Rao in Bhubaneswar to pursue the marriage proposal sent by a middleman.

However, during verification, the police have not yet been able to trace either Koteswar Rao or the middleman, who had responded to the matrimonial advertisement.

'Rao's younger son, Balagangadhar, told us that his father had told him that he was at the house of one Koteswar Rao when he last spoke to him at 10.20pm on Sunday. Our suspicion is that such a person does not exist. We think that it was a pre-planned crime, and a trap had been laid to call him to Bhubaneswar and kill him. We are looking into all angles,' said a senior police official.

Yesterday, Rao's elder son Umashankar had told the police that his father had never shared any information about his business with them. Balagangadhar concentrated only on his construction business.

During the probe, the police found out that Rao had withdrawn Rs 1.4 lakh on Sunday through two of his ATM cards.

Rao, the police said, carried six ATM cards. Efforts are on to find out whether any withdrawals had been made from other accounts, said police sources.

Yesterday, Umashankar had told the police that his father used to carry heavy cash whenever he travelled outside. Besides, he said, Rao used to carry ATM cards of various banks.

However, his wallet was found to be missing. 'The possibility of the victim being killed for money, too, is being investigated,' a senior police official had said.

Besides, while Rao's two sons had told the police that their father carried two mobile phones, the cops found one mobile phone from the scene of crime, and that too, without the SIM card.

'The CCTV footage obtained from Biju Patnaik International Airport is not clear enough to come to any conclusion about the people who had received and accompanied the deceased at the airport. We are investigating all possible angles, including business rivalry and intention of loot,' said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Rao had landed in Bhubaneswar on Sunday afternoon, and his body was found in the early hours of Monday.

'We are trying to trace Koteswar and the middleman, who had called the deceased to Bhubaneswar. Business rivalry may be the motive behind the crime,' the deputy commissioner of police had said.

A police team has been sent to Vizag to find out details of Rao's real estate business.