Prashant Kishore Party's Digital Brain Found Dead Near Tracks 24 Hours After Vanishing From Ranchi-Patna Janshatabdi

Ranchi: The digital communications head of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has been found dead under mysterious circumstances a day after he vanished from a moving train to Patna. The body of 31-year-old Devpalik Gupta was recovered from bushes close to railway tracks on the outskirts of Ranchi, nearly 24 hours after he went missing.

As per reports, Devpalik Gupta was travelling on Monday afternoon aboard the Ranchi-Patna Janshatabdi Express along with two colleagues when he suddenly disappeared. According to the party, an FIR in connection with his disappearance was registered at 9 pm on Monday, as confirmed by a Jan Suraaj leader. His body was later located at Jarwadih, an area falling under the Angara police station limits in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi.

The recovery was made on Tuesday afternoon, after a search that began soon after he could not be traced inside the train. The incident has raised several questions, with the party demanding an impartial probe.

Head Injury Suspected After Fall From Moving Train

As per the police, a preliminary examination suggested that Devpalik may have suffered a head injury, pointing to a fall from the moving train. However, the exact circumstances are still under investigation and have not been conclusively established.

The body has been sent to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIIMS) in Ranchi for a post-mortem examination. The police are now attempting to reconstruct the sequence of events after Devpalik left his berth, noting that he could not have alighted at any intermediate station as Muri is the first scheduled halt after Ranchi.

Recounting the final moments before his disappearance, his colleague stated that after the departure of the train at around 2.25 pm, Devpalik had gone towards the pantry car to fetch food. Concern grew when he did not return even after two hours. His colleague lodged a formal complaint with the Government Railway Police (GRP), following which the body was subsequently found in Jarwadih, which lies between Ranchi and Muri.

Party Seeks Impartial Probe

Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has called for an impartial investigation into the death, while stopping short of ruling out a conspiracy. The party's spokesperson said, "We do not know how, or under what circumstances, Devpalik Gupta died. Therefore, we cannot officially claim that there was any political or other conspiracy involved. If Devpalik was a victim of any conspiracy, political or otherwise, it must be investigated impartially."

Devpalik, a native of Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, had been working with Kishor for 4 years, since the launch of the Jan Suraaj campaign in 2022. After Kishor announced his formal political plunge in 2024, Devpalik was entrusted with managing the party's official social media handles and other digital campaigns. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), he had earlier been associated with several prominent newspapers, news channels and digital platforms.

He came into the limelight earlier this year for spearheading the party's social media campaign during the high-profile bypoll in Bankipur, considered a BJP bastion. The bypoll was eventually won by Prashant Kishor, months after Jan Suraaj failed to open the account in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections. The victory gave the outfit the first-ever seat in the Bihar Assembly and marked Kishor's first electoral success since entering active politics.

Further details regarding the death of Devpalik Gupta are awaited.