Ranchi, October 27, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Devpalik Gupta, a 21-year-old digital communication manager with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in a forested area near Muri Junction in Ranchi on Tuesday, a day after he went missing while travelling by train from Ranchi to Patna. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to the Jan Suraaj Party, Gupta went missing on Monday while travelling aboard the Ranchi–Patna Jan Shatabdi Express. His body was recovered on Tuesday afternoon. Kumar Saurabh Singh, the party’s national spokesperson, confirmed the discovery and said the police were investigating whether the incident was accidental or involved a criminal act.
Originally from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Gupta was an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, and played an important role in managing the party’s digital communications.
According to his family and colleagues, Gupta was travelling to Patna on Monday aboard the Ranchi–Patna Jan Shatabdi Express (Train No. 12366). He was seated in coach C-2, seat number 50, and was accompanied by two associates.
At around 3 p.m., shortly before the train reached Muri station, Gupta reportedly went towards the pantry car to place an order for food but did not return to his seat.
When his companions began looking for him, they found that his mobile phone was switched off. A search was conducted throughout the train and at Muri station with assistance from the Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, but he could not be traced.
After the train reached Bokaro, the passengers lodged a complaint through the Rail Madad application. According to the account provided, a jurisdictional dispute between the RPF and the Government Railway Police (GRP) allegedly delayed the registration of an FIR by more than six hours. The FIR was eventually registered in Ranchi at around 9 p.m. on Monday.
Gupta’s colleagues have raised concerns over the police response, alleging that the initial search efforts were inadequate and that an intensive search operation was not conducted throughout the night. These allegations have yet to be independently established.
Following the recovery of the body, Jan Suraaj national spokesperson Kumar Saurabh Singh posted on X, tagging Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the Ranchi district administration and urging them to take immediate action.
A joint team of the police and the GRP has taken custody of the body and is completing the necessary legal formalities. Further investigation is expected to proceed on the basis of the postmortem report.
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