Body of kidnapped man found

The body of a man, who was allegedly kidnapped by unidentified men from his house in West Garo Hills district on May 19, has been recovered from a spot about a kilometer from his residence, police said today.

The incident occurred at Sakaboldakgre village under Dadenggre police limits in Meghalaya.

Some locals alleged that the victim was suspected of practising witchcraft, which may have led to personal enmity.

"We are looking at all angles and will know what happened after we receive the post mortem report. Prima facie, it seems to be a case of murder," superintendent of police Dr MGR Kumar said.

An FIR lodged at the police station by two villagers on May 20 said that at around 10 pm on May 19, two people with their faces covered, had barged into the bedroom of the victim, identified as Nangseng Ch Marak (60), and dragged him out of his bed.

They also slapped the wife of the victim Wenem Sangma (56) before taking him to an undisclosed location.

The victims 20-year-old daughter was, however, left alone, the FIR said.

"After receiving the information, police teams launched an extensive search for the victim. We recovered a khukri, two blood-stained stones and a skull bone.

"There were also blood stains where the victim was dragged by his captors. The skull bone was recovered about a kilometre from the house near a river bank," the SP said.

The police and locals continued the search for the missing person before his body was recovered yesterday morning.