The deceased, Aanchal Yadav (Picture Courtesy: @aanchalyadav) | Photo Credit: Facebook

Raipur: Locals in Balod district of Chhattisgarh discovered the body of a woman floating in a pond on Tuesday evening. The victim was later identified as 32-year-old Aanchal Yadav, a resident of Dhamtari district who worked as a model in state capital Ranchi and was often photographed attending gatherings organised by the who's who of Raipur.

Police personnel investigating the matter revealed that preliminary investigation has led them to suspect foul play prompting them to refrain from ruling out the possibility of murder. Yadav's body was found, hands and legs tied with a rope, floating in a pond in Guroor region. A big stone was tied to her body in order to prevent it from floating, however, her body got stuck in the rocky surface and began floating on the surface which is when it was spotted by locals.

City police were alerted and a team of officers was dispatched to the scene. An official familiar with the investigation into Yadav's murder told Times of India that there were injury marks on her body and signs of stabbing on her abdomen. Pictures of her body were circulated by police on social media which led to people identifying her with the help of a tattoo on her hand. Her family was informed and later identified the body found in the lake as hers.

Yadav's mother told police officials that she returned to her Dhamtari residence from Raipur at around 9 pm on Monday. Aanchal got a call as soon as she entered home and went out to meet a biker who was waiting outside their residence, said the mother adding that Yadav promised her that she would be back in half-an-hour. Balod police suspect that whoever is responsible for Yadav's murder may have known her from before. Her social media accounts and call details are being examined for any clues. Since her mobile phone was not found near the body, police suspect that Yadav's body may have floated for more than 12 hours which indicates that she was murdered a few hours after she left home with the unidentified biker.

In 2014, Yadav was arrested in 2014 for allegedly blackmailing and extorting a forest officer posted in Barnawapara over a controversial video clip. In turn, she accused the forest officer of sexually exploiting her on the pretext of marriage. Reports also suggest that she met the forest officer while she was working as a life insurance agent.