Puri, Nov 7: Mystery shrouded over the death of a 27-year-old engineering student from Rourkela after his body was found inside a hotel room in Odisha’s Puri on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as Chinmaya Samal, a B.Tech student of Gandhi Engineering College in Tangi area of Cuttack.

According to sources, Chinmaya had come to Bhubaneswar with three of his college friends to visit the Bali Jatra 2025 in Balianta area. After visiting the fair, they reportedly went to Puri for a short trip and checked into a hotel – Radhakrishna Nivas – in Khuntiasahi area of the pilgrim city.

However, the hotel staff discovered Chinmaya’s body inside the hotel room in the afternoon and alerted the Puri Town Police. Upon getting the information, police arrived at the scene and recovered the body. Subsequently, it was sent for post-mortem.

Meanwhile, his three friends, who had accompanied him, have reportedly gone absconding since the incident. Also, Chinmaya’s mobile phone was missing from the scene.

On the other hand, Chinmaya’s father Shubhendu Samal suspected foul play and alleged that his son might have been drugged and murdered. He added that he spoke with Chinmaya around 7:30 pm on Wednesday and later his phone was switched off.

An investigation into the matter is underway to ascertain the exact cause of Chinmaya’s death and efforts are on to trace his missing friends, said the police.