Decomposed body bearing injury marks found in Ludhiana

According to police, the body was found when labourers returned to the site to resume construction work after a hiatus of nearly two months

A decomposed body of an unidentified man was found beneath a pile of bricks outside an under construction building in Sandhu Nagar, Haibowal, on Saturday, police said.

Cops register murder case; unidentified man believed to be around 35. (HT FILE)

The investigators suspect the man was murdered eight to 10 days ago and have registered a murder case in connection with the matter.

According to police, the body was found when labourers returned to the site to resume construction work after a hiatus of nearly two months. As they began clearing the bricks piled outside the building, one of the workers noticed a human hand protruding from the heap. The workers removed more bricks and discovered the body and informed police.

A team from Haibowal police station reached the spot and took custody of the body. As the man’s identity could not be established despite initial efforts, the police shifted the body to the civil hospital mortuary, where it will be kept for 72 hours to facilitate identification.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Kewal Krishan said, “The deceased appeared to be around 35 years old. The body is in an advanced state of decomposition, suggesting that he had died over a week ago.”

“There were deep injury marks on the abdomen and we suspect that the man could have been attacked with a sharp-edged weapon. The exact cause of the death will be established after the post-mortem examination,” the ASI added.

What NCRB data reveal

Ludhiana recorded 56 murder cases in 2024, in which 58 people, including 44 men and 14 women, were killed, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report covering 34 cities. The city ranked joint second with Asansol in West Bengal, behind Faridabad, which recorded 79 murder cases. Agra ranked third with 53 cases.

The number of murder cases in Ludhiana declined from 58 in 2022 to 56 in 2023 and remained unchanged in 2024. Of the cases recorded in 2024, 19 stemmed from petty quarrels, underscoring the deadly consequences of seemingly minor disputes.