Koraput: Tension gripped Malkangiri town on Monday after a youth, who was reportedly detained by a Haryana police team in connection with a ganja smuggling case, was found hanging in a hotel room.His family suspected foul play and accused the visiting police personnel of assaulting and killing him, triggering protests and demands for their arrest.The deceased was identified as Tanup De of MV-65 village under Malkangiri police station limits. His body was found hanging in a room at a Malkangiri hotel on Monday morning, hours after he was allegedly picked up from his residence by a police team from Hansi police station in Haryana.Sources said a Haryana police team reached MV-65 village on Sunday night and detained De on suspicion of his involvement in ganja smuggling. Instead of taking him to a local police station, the team allegedly kept him at the hotel in Malkangiri town, where he was found dead the following morning. “We suspect foul play in his death and demand an impartial investigation and stringent action against those responsible,” family members alleged.As news of the death spread, tension prevailed in MV-65 village and surrounding areas, with angry villagers and family members gathering outside Malkangiri police station and demanding the arrest of the Haryana police personnel involved in his detention.The protesters questioned how a person taken into police custody at night could be found dead under mysterious circumstances the following morning. “The circumstances under which he was taken away and subsequently found dead must be thoroughly investigated. Those responsible should not be allowed to escape punishment,” the protesters said.The incident has raised questions about the circumstances surrounding De’s detention and whether proper procedures were followed by the visiting police team.Malkangiri SP Vinod Patil said an unnatural death case had been registered and an investigation was underway to ascertain the exact cause of death. “The body has been recovered and sent for post-mortem. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation,” the SP said.Police are yet to establish whether De died by suicide or under other circumstances.