Jajpur (Odisha), Apr 20 (PTI) The body of a CRPF jawan, who had been missing for the last three days, was found hanging from a tree in a forest in Odisha's Jajpur district on Thursday, police said.

The deceased has been identified as Suryakant Kuanr, a resident of Sompur village under the Erasama Police Station limits in Jagatsinghpur district, a senior officer said.

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The body of the CRPF jawan was found hanging from a tree in the forest in Dhanmandal area, the officer said, adding that on Tuesday, his motorcycle was recovered near Barunabant hill under the Badachana Police Station limits in the district.

Suryakant's family members lodged a complaint, mentioning that he was missing since April 17. A search operation with the help of a drone camera was conducted to trace him, but the effort did not bear fruit, the police officer said.

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Later, three police teams led by Jajpur Road Sub Divisional Police Officer and some forest personnel were formed to trace the missing jawan in the Barunabant hill.

“After the recovery of the motorcycle, we conducted a search operation on the hill. We found the body hanging from a tree there,” Jajpur Road SDPO Sanjay Patnaik said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem examinations, he said, adding that an investigation has been initiated but it is yet to be ascertained whether the Central Reserve Police Force jawan died by suicide.

“Suryakant was a CRPF jawan and he was mentally very strong. We can't believe that he will kill himself. His disappearance from his native Sompur village and death on a hill in Jajpur should be investigated properly,” said Bikash Mohanty, a relative of the deceased.

Suryakant had come home recently on leave for the last rites of his grandmother in his native village and was staying with his wife in Jagatsinghpur.

(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)