A burnt body of a young woman was discovered in a Jharkhand forest near the Odisha border, prompting a police investigation into a suspected murder and raising concerns about cross-border crime.
Police found a burnt body of a young woman from Bankata forest in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand bordering Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, an officer said on Thursday.
Kowali Police Station Officer-in-Charge, Dhananjay Paswan, told PTI on Thursday that the body was found by a woman chowkidaar (village watchwoman) at Bankata forest near Patapani village, which is just next to Tiring in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, on Wednesday evening.
"We alerted all police stations in the district but till Thursday afternoon there has been no claimant for the body. There has been no missing report of any woman in early 20s lodged anywhere in East Singhbhum district. We assume that she might be from the bordering part of Odisha, and criminals might have murdered her and burnt the body to hide evidence in a forest," said Paswan.
The police on Thursday sent the body for post-mortem examination at MGM Medical College and Hospital at Jamshedpur.
"We are yet to ascertain if she was raped before being killed. Things will be clear only after the autopsy report," added the police officer.
A case has been registered on the statement of Patapani village watchwoman, Kiran Mahakud, who found the body on Wednesday.