SILIGURI: The body of 80-year-old
Ram Chandra Poudyal
, a prominent pro-democratic
politician
and former Sikkim minister, was found late Tuesday floating in the
Teesta
in
Bangladesh
, nine days after he had gone missing from his hometown in Sikkim's
Chhota Singtam
.
Poudyal had been deputy speaker of the first Sikkim assembly - from 1975 to 1977 - and later became state minister of the forest and land and land reforms department.
Sikkim police had set up a special investigation team (SIT) after the veteran politician was reported missing on July 7 and offered a cash reward for leads.
According to Bangladesh police, they saw a body floating in the Teesta at 10.41 pm. "After we recovered the body, we took pictures and circulated it to Indian police at Cooch Behar," said a Bangladesh police officer. "We later came to know that the deceased was from Sikkim. Later that night we handed over the body to Indian police," he added.
Poudyal's family members said the body was bloated beyond recognition. The octogenarian had left his home around 9 am on July 7. Family members waited for him till 7 pm but he did not return back. "We recognised him only by his wristwatch and clothes - a light blue kurta with white pyjamas and a Nepali topi. As far as we know, he had no enemies," added Poudyal's son-in-law.
Mekhliganj sub-divisional police officer Asish Subba confirmed that Poudyal's body had been handed over to his relatives.
Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang visited Poudyal's home in Chhota Singtam to pay his final respects. "He was a distinguished senior politician who had served the Sikkim govt in various capacities, including as a cabinet minister, and was the head of Jhulke Gham Party," Tamang added.
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