Ghaziabad, Aug 7 (PTI) A 40-year-old farmer was found dead with his hands and legs tied with a piece of cloth at a hut near his field in this district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, police said.

The farmer, Mehrajuddin alias Munna, used to sleep inside the hut to protect his crops from wild animals, they said.

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His helper, Raju, also used to sleep there. On Friday night, Mehrajuddin along with the helper went inside the hut to sleep.

In the midnight, Raju returned to Mehrajuddin's home and informed his brother Sirajuddin that some assailants came at the hut and held Munna hostage and started beating him up.

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Siraj immediately informed the police, who reached the spot. Even after a detailed combing of the area, the police team could not trace Munna. His body was found in a desert area, around 200 metres away from his hut, on Saturday morning, SP (Rural) Iraj Raja said.

Police have lodged and FIR against five people and are probing the matter from different angles as the farmer had sold his land for Rs 80 lakh which was deposited into his bank account.

The role of his helper is also under suspicion because Mehrajuddin had accused him of stealing Rs 4 lakh, the SP said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)