Sri Vijaya Puram, October 3: A 37-year-old man was found dead in a forested area near Church Tikri in Brooksabad on Friday evening, with injuries on his hands and legs prompting his family to suspect foul play.
The deceased, identified as Julius Kerketta, reportedly worked as a DRM at the Electricity Site Office in Chakkargaon. Police have begun an investigation, though the cause of death has not yet been established.
According to Julius’s younger brother, Satish Kerketta, 33, Julius left home between 5 pm and 6 pm on October 1 and did not return that night.
Satish, a resident of Brooksabad Tambu Bijan near the ALHW entrance gate, said he went to work the following morning. When he returned at around 1 pm, there was still no sign of his brother.
The family received information about Julius at around 4.30 pm, when a local boy from Upper Colony came to the house and told Satish that his brother was lying in a forested area near Church Tikri.
Satish rushed to the location with his brother-in-law Vijay and another relative. They found Julius lying motionless on the ground.
Satish said his brother was not breathing and had visible injuries on his hands and legs. The family subsequently informed the police and raised the possibility that Julius may have been assaulted before his death.
Police are expected to reconstruct Julius’s movements from the time he left home on October 1 until his body was discovered. Investigators will also have to establish how he reached the forested area and whether the injuries found on his body were connected to his death.
Medical and forensic findings will be crucial in determining the cause of death. The family’s suspicion of assault remains an allegation at this stage, and police have not yet established that Julius was murdered.
Other suspicious deaths investigated recently
The incident comes amid several cases in recent months in which bodies have been recovered under suspicious or unexplained circumstances across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The cases are unrelated, and there is no evidence to suggest any connection between them.
On September 21, a decomposed body of an unidentified man was recovered from a drain near MS VNP Construction in Pathergudda. Pahargaon Police registered an unnatural death case and subsequently sought the public’s help in identifying the deceased.
In July, the death of 38-year-old Kartik Mondal near the Fish Landing Jetty at Campbell Bay developed into a murder investigation. Mondal’s body was discovered on July 11 with injuries on his face. Police subsequently arrested Guman Samad and said their preliminary investigation indicated that an argument over a personal matter had allegedly led to an assault with an iron rod. The suspected weapon was also recovered, according to police.
Another murder case was registered in May after 36-year-old V. Shankar, a resident of Garacharma, was found dead at the Dollygunj graveyard. Pahargaon Police arrested two suspects in connection with the case. Investigators alleged that Shankar had been assaulted following an altercation.
In the latest case, the circumstances leading to Julius’s death remain unclear. The police investigation and medical examination are expected to determine whether the injuries noticed by his family resulted from an assault and whether foul play was involved.
