Patna- Devpalik Gupta, the 31-year-old digital communication manager of the Jan Suraaj Party, has gone missing while travelling from Ranchi to Patna, prompting a joint search operation by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP).
Gupta, a native of Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling to Patna ahead of the announcement of the Bihar Legislative Council election results. His disappearance has raised concern among his family members, friends and colleagues, who have appealed to the public for information that could help trace him.
According to an appeal circulated by people close to him, Gupta boarded the Jan Shatabdi Express at Ranchi railway station at around 2.25 p.m. on Monday, accompanied by his friend and colleague, Gautam Kumar. Kumar confirmed that the two had boarded the train together.
However, Gupta reportedly got off the train before it reached Muri Junction. His whereabouts have remained unknown since then, and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are yet to be established.
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 conducting a joint search operation to locate Gupta.
Investigators are examining different possibilities, including whether Gupta left the train and entered a nearby forest or whether some other incident occurred. His mobile phone remains switched off, with its last recorded activity reported at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Pandey said.
A team is continuing efforts to trace him, and officials expect the investigation to shed more light on the circumstances of his disappearance.
Gupta is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, belonging to the institution’s 2018 batch. He was working as the digital communication manager for the Jan Suraaj Party, founded by political strategist Prashant Kishor.
His family, friends and colleagues have urged anyone with information about his movements or whereabouts to come forward. No definitive explanation for his disappearance has been established so far.
–IANS
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