HYDERABAD, INDIA (ANS) -- K. David Raju, the brother of noted Indian evangelist K.A. Paul, was found dead in his car on the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday morning amid suspicions that he could have been murdered.

DNS, an Indian national newspaper, reported that according to the police, K. David Raju's body was found near Komireddipalli village, Addakula mandal, in Mahabubnagar district and that no external injuries were visible on it.

It was known from the DNA story that earlier Sunday morning, some locals found the car abandoned on the wayside and alerted the police.

“It is suspected that it’s a murder and special teams have been formed to further probe the incident,” a police officer told DNA.

The dead man’s son, K. Solomon Raju, speaking to the Deccan Chronicle newspaper, alleged that his father had been murdered.

But local police told the paper that there were no injuries on the body, bar bleeding from the nose, but his driver had absconded from the scene.

Mr. K. David Raju was last seen at a toll-gate on the highway before Jadcherla, which is 70 kilometers (43.50 miles) from Hyderabad, at 8.30 pm on Saturday.

The Deccan Chronicle had also reported that Mr. K. David Raju had differences with his brother Dr. K.A. Paul over control of properties of the ministry organization.

Speaking about the incident to the newspaper, Mr. Vinay Ranjan Ray, the Hyderabad Inspector-General of Police, said “We can’t come to a conclusion (on the cause of this death) at this juncture. But prima facie we can say it is a homicide. We are awaiting the post-mortem report.”

General Swathi Lakra, Hyderabad Range Director Inspector, who visited the scene of the incident, told the DNA newspaper, “Blood stains were found in the hand-kerchief of Raju. The investigations were in a preliminary stage and we are probing it from all angles.”

The Deccan Chronicle reported that police identified the body after they found the receipt of a city restaurant where K. David Raju had presumably dined on Saturday evening and cash withdrawal receipt and income tax documents were also found in the car, but there was no sign of a mobile phone.

Commenting on the bleeding, Osmania General Hospital forensic department head, Prof. Narayana, told the Deccan Chronicle, “If it is only nasal bleeding, it is not significant. Even in natural death, blood can ooze from the nose after six hours. However, we have to verify the amount of bleeding. If there is oozing from the ear, there could be a skull injury. In case of poisoning there would be no oozing of blood. In case of smothering (with a pillow) and throttling (with hands) there can be oozing of blood from the mouth, ear and nose.”

The Newspaper also reported that few months back, Dr. K.A Paul had accused his brother K. David Raju of amassing wealth in places like Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad and on November 8, 2008, the ministry auditorium near Meghalaya Hotel in the city was sealed by the authorities because of the dispute between the brothers.

James Varghese is a reporter for Masihat newspaper in India, and is also a freelance journalist working for ANS.