The body of a man was recovered from a hatchery in Cox's Bazar Sadar upazila last night.

The deceased was identified as Ali Akbar, a resident of Kuliyapara. The incident occurred around 10:00pm in Khurushkul area under the upazila, said Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Elias Khan.

He said the body was recovered from the hatchery named "Allahwala" with his hands tied behind his back.

Two people named Hossain and Mizan have been detained in connection with the incident, he added.

"All involved will be brought to justice after investigation," the OC said, adding that the body has been sent to the hospital morgue for autopsy.

Following news of the incident, a group of locals reportedly assaulted Raiyan Kashem, son of the hatchery owner, around 1:00am today.

Police then rescued Raiyan and took him to the hospital, said OC Elias.

Raiyan Kashem is a leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP) in Cox's Bazar. He is the son of AB Party Central Vice-Chairman Jahangir Kashem, who owns the hatchery.

Before the assault, Raiyan had told the media that Ali Akbar was "caught red-handed by security guards while stealing from the hatchery" and was injured "in retaliation after allegedly attacking them first," which led to his death.

Family members of the deceased and locals, however, claimed he was "picked up from a local tea stall and murdered in a planned manner" over an accusation of stealing fish.

Locals claimed that there had been previous incidents of murder at the hatchery.