Bhubaneswar: A suspected extramarital affair between a married woman and an 18-year-old ended in tragedy when the youth’s half-burnt body was found in an open field near Balisahi village road in Nayagarh district’s Gania police limits on Monday night.Police registered a murder case on Tuesday following allegations by the boy’s family, though investigators are also probing the possibility of self-immolation.According to police officials, the deceased, a resident of Kandhamirigi village, was working as a carpenter in Bhubaneswar for the past three years. According to his family, he left for Bhubaneswar on Sunday morning but did not return that night. On Monday evening, police informed them of his death.“His mother lodged a complaint alleging that a married woman, in her 20s, and her family murdered him. The family also claimed the woman was forcing him into an affair and extorting money. These allegations are being verified,” a police officer said.Scientific examination and inquest of the body were conducted, and the post-mortem report is awaited. Investigators are also considering the possibility of suicide. “Some of his social media posts and videos, including one showing him holding a petrol bottle, indicated depression. A petrol bottle was recovered near the body. The post-mortem will confirm whether he was set on fire with murder intent or he immolated himself. We are examining all angles,” the officer added.Police are scrutinising the deceased’s call records and social media chats with the suspects. “We learnt that the woman had recently eloped with the boy before returning to her husband. This sequence of events may have driven him into depression,” the officer said.Meanwhile, grieving relatives and villagers staged a protest in their locality, demanding the immediate arrest of the woman and her family members.