The body of a 25-year-old youth, who had reportedly jumped into a canal to escape a police raid at a cockfight venue on Sunday, was retrieved under K. Gangavaram police limits in East Godavari district on Monday.
Ramachandrapuram DSP P. Balachandra Reddy told The Hindu that the deceased was identified as Akula Ramesh (25) of Kadupuru village in K. Gangavaram mandal.
On Sunday evening, three locals including Ramesh jumped into the nearby canal to escape from police when the latter raided a cockfight venue. However, Ramesh went missing in the canal while the other two persons managed to swim to safety.
The body was traced and retrieved on Monday after a search operation. Locals staged a protest along with the body when the police prepared to shift it to the Area Hospital in Ramachandrapuram. However, the locals withdrew their protest, allowing the police to proceed with the post-mortem. The police registered a case and the investigation is on.
