Devpalik Gupta Missing Case Ends in Death, Probe Underway

The mysterious disappearance of Devpalik Gupta, digital communication manager of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, has ended in tragedy. His body was discovered on Tuesday in a forested stretch near Muri Junction in Ranchi district, a day after he vanished from a train during a trip to Patna.

Party spokesperson Kumar Saurabh Singh confirmed the discovery. He said the police are looking into the matter, but the cause of death, whether accidental or criminal, has not been established.

Gupta, 21, was originally from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. He was a former student of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi and had been entrusted with significant responsibilities in the party's digital media wing.

According to relatives and co-workers, Gupta was returning to Patna with two colleagues on the Ranchi-Patna Janshatabdi Express on October 26, travelling in coach C-2. As the train approached Muri station around 3 pm, he went to the pantry car to place a food order. He did not come back, and when his companions began looking for him, his mobile phone was switched off.

TTE and Railway Protection Force personnel conducted a search of the train and the Muri station, but no information about his whereabouts emerged. Passengers later filed a complaint through the Rail Madad app after the train reached Bokaro. Reports indicate that a dispute between the RPF and GRP over jurisdiction caused more than six hours of delay in registering the FIR. It was eventually lodged in Ranchi at 9 pm.

The deceased's colleagues have strongly criticised the police and administration for their slow response in the early hours and for failing to carry out an intensive night search.

Following the incident, Kumar Saurabh Singh had sought immediate intervention by tagging Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the Ranchi district administration on X.

At present, a joint police and GRP team is handling the custody of the body and the legal formalities. The investigation will continue based on the postmortem findings.