Man found dead in UP canal: Police suspect suicide — till autopsy leaves them with a murder to solve

The man has been identified as Prince Rana, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, who had been residing in Gurgaon and worked as a project manager with a private firm. He had been missing since January 15.

According to the Gurgaon police, his wife had filed a missing person’s complaint at Palam Vihar Police station on January 16, a day after he had left his house saying he was going to work.

Meanwhile, at around 6 pm Wednesday, local people alerted the Ghaziabad Police of a floating body. “The body was decomposed but there was a red cloth tied around the neck. We verified his details with the Aadhaar card and wallet found on the body,” said Siddharth Gautam, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Masuri.

Gautam also said the Gurgaon police were informed of the development and the body was sent for an autopsy.

The post-mortem report cites that the death was due to ‘asphyxia due to ante-mortem strangulation,’ confirmed a senior officer.

However, the Gurgaon police which will investigate the case said they have not received the post-mortem report as of now. “Once we get it, we will probe the death from that angle,” said Station House Officer, Palam Vihar Police Station.

He also said the deceased man had put the phone on airplane mode and had lied to his wife about leaving for work. “He had not gone to the office that day. We have got some letters that state that he had to return the money he had borrowed from a few people,” said the officer.