RANCHI: The body of Devpalik Gupta, 31, the digital communication manager of the Jan Suraaj Party, who went missing while travelling from Ranchi to Patna aboard a train, was recovered from a forested area near the railway tracks in the Angara-Muri section of Ranchi district.
A native of Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, Gupta was an alumnus of the 2018 batch of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. He worked with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party as its digital communication manager.
According to reports, Gupta boarded the Jan Shatabdi Express at Ranchi railway station on Monday, accompanied by his friend and colleague, Gautam Kumar, for his journey to Patna. The train departed at around 2.25 pm, but Gupta reportedly went missing during the journey.
A complaint was lodged at the Muri Government Railway Police (GRP) station following his disappearance, after which the GRP and Railway Protection Force (RPF) launched a joint search operation. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death.
In a social media post, one of Gupta’s friends said he was travelling on the train on October 26 with two associates and was seated in coach C-2, seat number 50.
According to the post, Gupta went to the pantry car to order food at around 3 pm, before the train reached Muri station, and did not return.
When his companions failed to locate him, they tried calling his mobile phone, but it was switched off, the post said. The circumstances surrounding Gupta’s disappearance from the moving train remain unclear.
Ranchi Rural Superintendent of Police Gaurav Goswami confirmed that the body was recovered near the Angara-Muri railway section.
“An identity card bearing Gupta’s photograph was found near the body, helping the police establish his identity,” said the Rural SP. A police team reached the spot and initiated an investigation to ascertain the circumstances leading to his death, he added.