India
He Went To Train Pantry Car, And Never Returned: Prashant Kishor's Party Media Head Found Dead In Forest
By: News18 India
Published: 27 October 2026
Photo / Illustration: Haldwani Times News Desk
<p>Devpalik Gupta, a 31-year-old digital communications manager associated with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, was found dead in a forest in Jharkhand after going missing during a train journey from Ranchi to Patna on Monday, October 27, according to news agency ANI.</p>
<p>Gupta, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in Delhi, was travelling aboard the Jan Shatabdi Express with his friend and colleague Gautam Kumar when he disappeared. His disappearance triggered a search involving railway security personnel and local police.</p>
<p>According to the information available, Gupta reportedly left his berth to visit the pantry car but did not return. His mobile phone was also switched off, adding to concerns about his whereabouts. His body was subsequently found in a forest in Jharkhand, raising questions about what happened after he went missing.</p>
<p>Gupta, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district, was travelling with Kumar aboard the Jan Shatabdi Express. The two boarded the train at Ranchi railway station, and it departed at around 2.25 pm.</p>
<p>According to Kumar, Gupta told him about 10 minutes after the train began its journey that he was going to the pantry car.</p>
<p>When Gupta did not return, Kumar went to look for him. He first checked the pantry car near their coach and then searched the other coaches of the train. However, Gupta could not be found anywhere on the train.</p>
<p>Gupta went missing while travelling aboard the Ranchi-Patna Jan Shatabdi Express on Monday, October 27.</p>
<p>Railway authorities examined CCTV footage from Muri Junction, indicating he had not deboarded the train there.</p>
<p>Jan Suraaj national spokesperson Kumar Saurabh Singh called for a swift and impartial investigation into the death.</p>
<p>His disappearance prompted Kumar to report the matter to the Government Railway Police (GRP), following which railway security personnel and local police began efforts to trace him.</p>
<p>Sanjeev Singh, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) inspector at Muri Junction, told the media that the information available indicated Gupta had not deboarded the train there.</p>
<p>Officials continued trying to trace Gupta, but his mobile phone remained switched off.</p>
<p>A joint team of local police and RPF personnel was also deployed to search for him as efforts to establish his whereabouts continued.</p>
<p>The search for Gupta ended with the discovery of his body in a forest in Jharkhand. ANI reported the development in its latest update.</p>
<p>Gupta was associated with Jan Suraaj Party as a digital communications manager and was part of the communications team of the party led by Prashant Kishor. He was also an alumnus of IIMC, Delhi.</p>
<p>The circumstances surrounding his disappearance from the moving train and the subsequent discovery of his body remain unclear from the information available.</p>
<p>In a post on X, Singh said the 31-year-old IIMC graduate, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district, had been missing since Tuesday afternoon while travelling on the Ranchi-Patna Jan Shatabdi Express. He said an FIR was registered at 9 pm.</p>
<p>Singh said the party did not know the circumstances surrounding Gupta’s death and had no basis to claim a political or other conspiracy. He urged Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to direct senior officials to ensure a fair probe. Gupta’s body is being taken to RIMS, Ranchi, for a postmortem, he added.</p>
<p>Devpalik Gupta was a 31-year-old digital communications manager and IIMC Delhi alumnus who served as the media head and social media backend team lead for Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party.</p>
<p>Devpalik Gupta disappeared after leaving his berth to visit the pantry car on the Ranchi-Patna Jan Shatabdi Express. When he failed to return, his traveling companion Gautam Kumar searched the train and alerted the Government Railway Police after he could not be found.</p>
