Kasaragod: A worker from Karnataka was found murdered in a two-storey house where migrant workers were staying, at Angadippadavu near Hosangadi in Manjeshwar, with police suspecting a fellow worker who has gone missing after the incident.

The deceased has been identified as Ramesh (38), son of Girijamma and the late Peera Naik of Linganaikannahalli near Hosapete in Vijayanagara district.

Ramesh was found dead in the kitchen of the house owned by Narasimha Moorthy around 7.45 pm on Friday. Krishnappa, a worker staying in the house, was the first to spot the body. He informed Moorthy, who alerted the police.

Manjeshwar SHO Inspector M V Vishnu, who is leading the investigation, said Ramesh had wounds all over his body. Blood was also found on the grinding stone in the kitchen. “The forensic surgeon will have to tell us which were the fatal injuries,” Inspector Vishnu Prasad said.

The house is used as accommodation for workers from Karnataka and some northern states. Police came to know about the suspected murder around two hours after the incident.

One of the workers staying at the house has been missing since the incident, said the Inspector. "He is also a native of Karnataka and is currently the main suspect," the SHO said.

The suspect's house is around 30 minutes from Ramesh’s house in his native village. "Our teams have spread wide to catch him. The motive for the crime would be known only after his arrest,” Vishnu Prasad said.

Police said signs of a struggle were found inside the house, raising suspicion that Ramesh was subjected to a brutal assault.

Ramesh was not a regular resident of the house, according to the workers staying there. He had been living elsewhere and taking up various jobs. He had returned to Kerala from his native place about a month ago.

Police are yet to establish why Ramesh had come to the Angadippadavu house and who else was present there at the time of the incident.

The body was subjected to inquest proceedings on Saturday and sent for postmortem. Relatives of Ramesh have reached Manjeshwar after learning of his death.
He is survived by his mother, Girijamma, and siblings Raj Naik, Ravi Naik, Ashabhai, Lakshmibhai and Nirmalabhai.