Patna, Oct 27 (IANS) Devpalik Gupta, the digital communication manager of the Jan Suraaj Party, has gone missing while travelling by train from Ranchi to Patna. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) have launched a joint search operation looking for him.
The 31-year-old, a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district, was travelling to Patna ahead of the announcement of the Bihar Legislative Council election results.
According to an appeal circulated by his family and friends, Gupta boarded the Jan Shatabdi Express at Ranchi railway station on Monday at around 2.25 p.m., accompanied by his friend and colleague, Gautam Kumar.
Kumar confirmed that they had boarded the train together, but the circumstances surrounding Gupta’s disappearance remain unclear.
According to information, Gupta reportedly got off the train before it reached Muri Junction. His whereabouts have remained unknown since then.
Gupta is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, and belongs to the institution’s 2018 batch. He was working as the digital communication manager for the party founded by Prashant Kishor.
Ashish Kumar Pandey, RPF Commandant for the Ranchi Railway Division, said a complaint had been lodged at the Muri GRP police station. The RPF and GRP are jointly conducting a search operation to trace him.
According to the commandant, investigators are examining all possibilities, including whether Gupta left the train and went into a nearby forest or whether another incident occurred.
His mobile phone is switched off, and its last recorded activity was around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, he said, adding that the investigation would clarify the circumstances as it progressed. A team is continuing efforts to locate Gupta.
Meanwhile, his family, friends and colleagues have appealed for information that could help establish his whereabouts. The circumstances of his disappearance remain under investigation, and no definitive explanation has yet been established.
–IANS
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