Bihar: Army jawan’s bullet-riddled body found in bamboo bush

An Army jawan’s body, with bullet injuries near his left ear, was found on Saturday evening in a bamboo bush near Manihari, Bihar.

An Army jawan’s body, with bullet injuries near his left ear, was found on Saturday evening in a bamboo bush under mysterious circumstances near Manihari, some 20km from the district headquarters of Katihar.

The deceased, Manjeet Singh, 30, was a resident of Gurdaspur in Punjab and was going to Guwahati by the North-East Express to resume duty after a holiday.

The incident comes close on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of another armyman, Captain Shikhardeep, who went missing from the Mahananda Express on February 6. He, however, resurfaced at Faizabad in UP after a week on Saturday. He had boarded the train at Katihar on way to New Delhi.

Confirming Manjeet’s death, Katihar ASP Chhote Lal Prasad said: “The body was found in a bamboo bush at Mahiyarpur village under Manihari PS, some 20km from Katihar. It bore bullet injury marks near the left ear.”

He said Manjeet’s family was immediately informed of the tragedy and the body was later handed over to his family members after autopsy.

According to police sources, the deceased left Gurdaspur on February 9 but did not reach Guwahati on February 11 as scheduled. Worried family members then lodged an FIR with Kadia police station in Punjab.

On the basis of the identity card and the mobile number recovered from the deceased’s pocket, he was identified as “UNI XC-DH AKM PS SB RK1350 posted at Guwahati in Assam”, the sources said.

Meanwhile, railway and civil police are looking into the matter and trying to find out the reason behind his killing.

The victim’s brother, Sukhdev, has charged the railway police with negligence. “It is not safe for people to travel by train,” he rued.