Jan Suraaj Party functionary, missing from train, found dead near tracks in Ranchi

A 31-year-old digital communications manager of the Jan Suraaj Party, who had gone missing from a moving train, was found dead near the railway tracks in Ranchi, people familiar with the matter said.

The deceased, Devpalik Gupta, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), was travelling on the Ranchi-Patna Janshatabdi Express with two friends on Monday afternoon when he disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

His body was spotted along the tracks between Ranchi and Muri Junction on Tuesday afternoon, said senior superintendent of police (Ranchi) Rakesh Ranjan. “A probe has been initiated to ascertain the exact cause of death.”

His body has been sent to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi for autopsy.

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) Alumni Association mourned his death. Devpalik Gupta was a journalism student of the institute’s 2018-19 batch. “Mr. Gupta was travelling back to Patna from Ranchi by a train with his two friends. His body, which was located near a railway track, has been identified by his brother,” the association said in a post on X.

Gupta’s colleague Gautam Kumar said that they boarded the train at Ranchi railway station on Monday and it departed around 2.25 pm. About 10 minutes later, Gupta reportedly told his companions that he was going to the pantry car to get something to eat but did not return, Kumar said.

“We then left our berth and went to the pantry car next to our coach, but we did not find him. We checked every coach, but he was nowhere on the train,” he told news agency PTI. When the train stopped at Muri Junction, they lodged a complaint with the Government Railway Police, following which a search was started.