Authorities discovered the body of a 40-year-old Indian man close to the border between Lithuania and Belarus, German press agency dpa reported, citing Lithuanian media reports.

The man is said to be a migrant who had crossed the border of European Union (EU) country Lithuania without papers from Belarus.

The man's body and backpack were found near a village in Lithuania's eastern Ignalina region, according to the Vilnius prosecutor's office.

Police said the corpse was located near a riverbank close to the 690-kilometer (430 miles) Lithuanian-Belarusian border on Thursday (April 6) in the afternoon and that there were no signs of violence found on his body.

Lithuania blames Belarus for migrant death

In response to the man's death, Lithuania's Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite slammed Belarus' authoritarian leadership under President Alexander Lukashenko.

The EU has accused Lukashenko of encouraging migrants from conflict regions to the bloc's external border.

The Lithuanian government, among others, responded by declaring a state of emergency at the border, stepping up border protection and building a border fence to prevent the arrival of migrants that way.

During the summer and autumn of 2021, thousands of people tried to enter Lithuania, Latvia and Poland via Belarus.

Migrant returns

Vilnius has introduced a law allowing border guards to forcibly return migrants back into Belarus. Rights activists and NGOs have criticized the decision and reported alleged human rights violations.

On April 5, Lithuanian officials announced they were considering taking legal measures against Belarus for deliberately pushing migrants across its border. The country may also file a case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), dpa reported.

"Lithuanian authorities have enough information that the illegal migration flow that continues since 2021 could not be possible without the involvement of the Belarusian regime," Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska tweeted on April 5.

With dpa