JAMMU: The body of a Jammu-based telecom company staff member who went missing over a month ago from a spot near river Chenab in Akhnoor has been found downstream in Pakistan and his family has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other authorities to help bring the body back to their hometown for performing the last rites.
“It is believed that he (Nagotra) committed suicide by jumping into the river after losing Rs 80,000 in an online game,” a police official said.
Nagotra went missing near a river in Akhnoor’s Bakhor on June 11. His father Subhash Sharma and others searched for him and filed a missing person’s report with the police the next day.
“Nagotra’s father said he received a call from a Pakistani civilian on Saturday seeking to identify the body found in the river in Sialkot. Nagotra had left his mobile phone at home and his father had been using it,” the police officer said.
A police officer said Nagotra’s company ID card was found in his possession and helped a Pakistani civilian get in touch with Subhash and inform Pakistani authorities about the body. “The (Pakistani) officials sent a photo of the ID card to Nagotra’s father, who confirmed his identity,” the officer added.
Nagotra’s family submitted a memorandum to police on Sunday, seeking the government’s help in returning the body. Officials said they have also written to the prime minister as well as the foreign and interior ministries. “We also appeal to the Pakistani authorities to hand over the body and perform the last rites as per Hindu rituals,” a member of Nagotra’s family said in Akhnoor on Sunday.
Recent cases offer hope that such aid will come as a gesture of goodwill: In August 2022, Pakistan returned the body of Zafar Ahmed, a teenager from Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. The 17-year-old drowned while bathing in a river.
Pakistan handed over the body of BSF assistant constable Paritosh Mandal, who went missing while patrolling near the international border in Jammu’s Aik Nala area in October 2019. In June 2018, Pakistani authorities repatriated the body of Davender Singh Manhas, whose body was washed away in the Chenab river, days after it was found dead.
“It is believed that he (Nagotra) committed suicide by jumping into the river after losing Rs 80,000 in an online game,” a police official said.
Nagotra went missing near a river in Akhnoor’s Bakhor on June 11. His father Subhash Sharma and others searched for him and filed a missing person’s report with the police the next day.
“Nagotra’s father said he received a call from a Pakistani civilian on Saturday seeking to identify the body found in the river in Sialkot. Nagotra had left his mobile phone at home and his father had been using it,” the police officer said.
A police officer said Nagotra’s company ID card was found in his possession and helped a Pakistani civilian get in touch with Subhash and inform Pakistani authorities about the body. “The (Pakistani) officials sent a photo of the ID card to Nagotra’s father, who confirmed his identity,” the officer added.
Nagotra’s family submitted a memorandum to police on Sunday, seeking the government’s help in returning the body. Officials said they have also written to the prime minister as well as the foreign and interior ministries. “We also appeal to the Pakistani authorities to hand over the body and perform the last rites as per Hindu rituals,” a member of Nagotra’s family said in Akhnoor on Sunday.
Recent cases offer hope that such aid will come as a gesture of goodwill: In August 2022, Pakistan returned the body of Zafar Ahmed, a teenager from Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. The 17-year-old drowned while bathing in a river.
Pakistan handed over the body of BSF assistant constable Paritosh Mandal, who went missing while patrolling near the international border in Jammu’s Aik Nala area in October 2019. In June 2018, Pakistani authorities repatriated the body of Davender Singh Manhas, whose body was washed away in the Chenab river, days after it was found dead.
