Mystery continues to shroud the sudden death of 35-year-old Australian tourist John James Allan who was found hanging from a tree in Bodh Gaya on Saturday. The deceased’s body was handed over to the Australian Embassy personnel on Monday after all formalities were completed. The body was sent to Lucknow, from where it was to be flown to New Delhi.

Allan was found hanging from a tree in Bodh Gaya on Saturday.

Although the Bodh Gaya police have registered a U/D case as no evidence of any ulterior motive was found, the probe team is exploring all angles, including murder and ‘forced suicide’.

Discussions with locals and other Australian tourists revealed that James had been at the Buddhist township for more than two months and visited Delhi and other places in between. He preferred private houses for his stay. Nobody revealed the names of local people he was in contact with. Sources further revealed that he might have lent money to invest in a business. Some said his funds had run short and he did not have money to go back to Australia.

According to some reports, the Australian used to frequent Bodh Gaya alone and had a motorbike bearing registration number of Delhi. On the ill-fated night, he was last seen by a kiosk operator around Rajapur garden. Police have recovered an English translation of the Quran and are investigating across certain pockets of Bodh Gaya. The investigation team is trying to locate all those who were in close contact with him. However, even after 72 hours of the incident, the local police have failed to find the house where Allan resided for two months.

Bodh Gaya’s deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Raman Kumar Chaudhary said that the police have launched an investigation and all options are under the ambit of the probe. The FSL report would further reveal the truth behind the death and the probe team was trying to locate those who were in contact with the deceased, he said.

First Published: Nov 07, 2018 15:29 IST