Kataka: A suspected love triangle involving social media has emerged as the motive behind the murder of a 15-year-old schoolboy whose body was found near the Mahanadi river in Odisha's Kataka city on Sunday.

Cuttack Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said the preliminary investigation indicated that the murder was linked to a love triangle. Police have detained a juvenile accused in connection with the case, while another juvenile suspect remains at large.

The detained accused is a college student in Cuttack, while the second suspect studies at a college in Bhubaneswar, the DCP said. Police are making efforts to trace and apprehend him.

The detained juvenile will be produced before the Principal Magistrate of the Juvenile Justice Board, the official said.

The deceased, identified as Sumant Sahu, was a Class X student and a resident of Raja Bagicha Badhei Sahi. His body was found near the lower Balijatra ground along the Mahanadi river with a stab wound on the neck.

Locals who had gone to the river for a bath spotted the body and informed the police. A team from Cantonment police station reached the spot and began an investigation with the help of a scientific team. Bloodstains were found along a stretch of nearly 100 metres from the riverbank.

Police examined CCTV footage from the ground to identify the suspects. The footage helped investigators track down and arrest one of the accused, the DCP said.

Family members had earlier told police that Sumant had last spoken to a friend of his elder brother around 8.40 am on the day of the incident. They also said that two persons had visited their house at night two to three days earlier and asked for him. The two left after being told that he was not at home.

Meanwhile, police have tightened patrolling in the lower Balijatra area following the murder.