Patna: The body of a bank employee was found floating in the Lakhandei river in Sitamrahi district on Sunday. His body was recovered at Dumaria Ghat on Belsand-Chandauli Road under Belsand police station area of the district. The deceased was identified as Rupesh Kumar Rai (41), a field officer at Belsand branch of the State Bank of India (SBI). The tragic incident came to light on Sunday morning when local residents informed the police about the body.
According to police, Rupesh was a resident of Darbhanga. He lived with his family in a rented house in Dumra. As usual, he left the bank around 6pm on Saturday, but he did not return home. Upon receiving information, a police team reached the spot and sent the body to sadar hospital for postmortem.
Belsand SHO, Nawlesh Kumar, said, "When Rupesh didn't return home till late evening, his wife called her husband's colleague around 8 pm, who told her that Rupesh already left the bank. Then the wife, with her neighbours, started a search for him, but they could not get a trace of him."
The SHO said that no injury or strangulation mark was found on the body. Prima facie, Rupesh seems to have accidentally fallen into the river and drowned, as the road through which he used to commute to the bank was badly damaged on the riverside. However, the exact cause of the death would be known from the autopsy report comes, he said.
"The body was handed over to the family after the postmortem at sadar hospital. Further investigation is underway," the SHO added.