The police speculate that Prakash was murdered on Sunday. His body was swollen and was partially decomposed when the police reached his rented flat at Sadar Apartments in the Mianwali Gali area of Paschim Vihar around 10.30 a.m. today. There was no sign of forced entry but the door to the house which is actually a room built as an outhouse of the flat where the owners live had been bolted from the outside.

The incident was reported to the police after the flat-owner and neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from his room. After the police opened the door, they found Prakash's body on the floor.

The room had not been ransacked and most of the valuables, including fixed eposit cheques worth Rs 1.5 lakh, were found in a cupboard. Preliminary investigations have revealed ligature marks on Prakash's neck.

Though the motive behind the murder is yet to established, DCP (West) Rajesh Malik said that personal enmity cannot be ruled out. The fact that none of Prakash's neighbours had noticed anything untoward in the past couple of days has also raised suspicions that the incident was the handiwork of an insider or an acquaintance.

Investigations have also revealed that two persons had come to visit Prakash around 2 p.m. on Sunday. Though their identity is not known, an entry made on the register kept in the security guard's room has confirmed that Prakash had visitors on that day.

Prakash used to work in the posts and telegraph department before as a post-master 10 years ago. He had divorced his wife around the same time, and had been living alone ever since.

Neighbours said that none of them had seen any of Prakash's relatives, including his family, during the two years that he had been staying at Paschim Vihar. The former post-master's wife and children, who stay in Vasant Kunj reached Paschim Vihar later this afternoon after the police informed them about his death. DCP Malik said: ``We have got some clues and hope to solve the case very soon.'' Prakash's owners who were present in the house when the incident is believed to have occurred are also being questioned. They have said that they did not see or hear anything untoward on Sunday. The body has been sent for post-mortem and further investigations are on.