Body of missing Sikkim minister recovered in B’desh, returned to India
Cooch Behar/Darjeeling: The body of former Sikkim Minister Ram Chandra Poudyal was recovered in Bangladesh. 80-year-old Poudyal was missing since July 7. A missing person report was filed at Pakyong Police Station in Sikkim. He was identified by the watch he was wearing. The Bangladesh Police administration handed over the body to Indian authorities on Tuesday night. His funeral was held at Chhota Singtam in Sikkim on Wednesday. Sikkim Chief Minister P S Tamang and former Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling expressed condolences.
Residents spotted a body floating in the Teesta River in the Mahishkhochcha area near Gobardhan village in the Lalmonirhat district of Bangladesh on Monday. Upon receiving the news, police officials, led by the Superintendent of Police of the concerned district in Bangladesh, recovered the body and communicated this information to various authorities. This led to the news reaching the Sikkim administration, who then contacted the Mekhliganj Police Station. Mekhliganj Police then coordinated with the Bangladesh Police. After the post-mortem, the Bangladesh administration handed over the body to the Indian administration through the Changrabandha check post in Cooch Behar district on Tuesday night. Apart from Mekhliganj Police, SDPO Ashish P Subba, officials from the BSF and Bangladesh police administration were also present during the handover.
N Chhetri, son-in-law of the deceased former minister, stated that his father-in-law was a social worker and a former minister. He was missing since July 7. The family identified him by the wrist watch found on the body.Ashish P Subba, SDPO of Mekhliganj Police, said: “We communicated with the Bangladesh Police as soon as we were contacted. The Bangladesh Police handed over the body to us on Tuesday night and we subsequently handed it over to the family.” The body was later handed over to family members and taken to Sikkim.
Poudyal had left home sporting a light blue kurta, white pajamas and a Nepali Topi, carrying a red umbrella and walking stick to meet some relatives. When he failed to return the family lodged a missing complaint.
The Sikkim Police had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and even announced a cash award for information on the former minister. Fearing that he could have been washed away by a mountain river, rafting teams had also scouted the Teesta downstream. RC Poudyal, as he was popularly known, was born in Chhota Singtam, Namcheybong. He was the founder of the Jhulke Gham Party and served as the party’s president.
