Kasaragod: An autorickshaw driver from Mangaluru was hacked to death and his body dumped in an open well near Kunjathur in Manjeshwar, Kasaragod police said on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Mohammed Shareefi (52), a native of Mulki, a coastal town near Mangaluru.

His body, bearing deep hack injuries, was recovered from a parapet-less well around 10 am on Friday, April 11. After an inquest, it was sent to the Government Medical College Hospital in Pariyaram for post-mortem.

According to Manjeshwar police, passersby noticed an abandoned autorickshaw near the well on Thursday evening. Bloodstains and a pair of slippers were found nearby. When they looked into the well, they spotted a body and alerted the police.

Police traced the vehicle’s registration to identify the deceased. Shareefi had been reported missing since Wednesday night, and a missing person’s report had already been filed at the Mulki Police Station. Relatives who reached the site later confirmed that the abandoned autorickshaw belonged to him.

A dog squad and forensic experts inspected the area Friday morning, following which a Fire and Rescue team pulled out the body. The inquest was conducted under the supervision of Kasaragod DySP C.K. Sunil Kumar and Inspector E. Anoop Kumar.

Police said three men had hired Shareefi’s autorickshaw on Wednesday night, and they are now being treated as prime suspects in the case.