An Armed Police Force (APF) constable who had gone on a border patrol has died under suspicious circumstances.

APF constable Om Prakash Pun Magar, stationed at the Parigaun Border Out Post (BOP) in Dadeldhura, was found dead three days after he went missing from the barracks.

According to APF spokesperson and DIG Bishnu Bhatt, Pun Magar’s body was recovered on Monday from beneath a bridge over the Mahakali River at the Tanakpur Barrage connecting Kanchanpur and Tanakpur in Uttarakhand, India. Following a post-mortem examination, his body was cremated on Tuesday in Godawari, Kailali.

A day earlier, on Sunday, the body of 55-year-old Tirtha Bahadur Thapa, who was related to Pun Magar as his maternal uncle, was also found in the Mahakali River. Thapa’s body was discovered floating in the river at Parshuram Municipality-5 in Dadeldhura at around 9:50 am.

The disappearance of an APF personnel while on patrol and the subsequent discovery of his body days later have raised serious questions about the incident.

According to APF Headquarters in Halchowk, a 21-member patrol team led by APF Inspector Naresh Bahadur Chand had left Parigaun BOP on May 28 for a foot patrol along the border. The team spent the night of May 29 at Harbar BOP.

However, when roll call was conducted on the morning of May 30, Constable Pun Magar was missing. A search was launched, but he could not be located.

The fact that a patrol member disappeared overnight while staying at another BOP has made the circumstances particularly suspicious. Authorities have yet to officially determine how he left the BOP or where he went.

The APF, however, has offered its own explanation. Dadeldhura-based APF DSP Prakash Chandra Bhatt claims that Pun Magar had left to celebrate his wedding anniversary.

“His room was near the BOP. He said he was going out briefly to celebrate his anniversary. He never returned to the BOP afterwards,” DSP Bhatt said.

According to the APF, Pun Magar’s wife is also an APF personnel. The couple were batchmates and were serving together at the same BOP.

The APF further claims that because both his rented room and his maternal uncle’s house were located near the BOP, he had gone out to celebrate his anniversary before subsequently going missing. However, authorities have not disclosed who authorised him to leave the post or whether any official record exists of his departure.

After Pun Magar, who was posted under No. 52 Gulm, was reported missing, a five-member APF search team led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Sher Bahadur Bam was deployed from Parigaun BOP along with a border patrol unit.

Although Pun Magar was found missing during the morning roll call on May 30, police were informed of the incident only at around 5 pm that evening.

“We received information at around 5 pm that he had gone missing,” said DSP Barun Bahadur Singh of Dadeldhura Police, who is leading the investigation.

When Pun Magar could not be located by the evening of May 30, a nine-member APF search and rescue team, including five divers and led by an APF SP from No. 7 Battalion, was mobilised at around 6:15 pm.

The team conducted search operations in the Mahakali River at Kalpatte, Parshuram Municipality-5, using rubber boats.

On Sunday at around 9:50 am, another APF team of 10 personnel, including disaster management staff and led by an Assistant Sub-Inspector from Parigaun BOP, recovered the body of Tirtha Bahadur Thapa from the Mahakali River.

Because Thapa’s house was located near the BOP, investigators suspect that Pun Magar may have left the BOP to celebrate his anniversary and later gone fishing in the Mahakali River with his uncle. However, this has not been officially confirmed.

Investigation committee formed

The disappearance of a patrol member from a BOP and the discovery of his body days later have exposed possible security lapses and negligence within the post.

DIG Bhatt said a committee has been formed to investigate the incident.

A three-member investigation committee led by SP Dev Raj Joshi of No. 7 Battalion has been tasked with examining the case. The APF says the circumstances surrounding the deaths and any potential negligence will become clearer only after the committee submits its report.

Dadeldhura Police are also conducting a separate investigation.

“We have completed the initial procedures after recovering the body within our jurisdiction. Further investigation will proceed once the post-mortem report is received,” DSP Singh said.