Decomposed body found in Manjhi khud

An unidentified body was recovered from Manjhi khud in Kangra on Wednesday morning, the police officials confirmed. The body was first spotted by the former village head of Gaggal, who promptly informed the local police. A police team subsequently arrived at the scene.

Preliminary inquiries suggest the deceased man is around 30 years of age, with a height of about 5 feet 6 inches. The body, which had started to decompose, appeared to be several days old, the police officials said.

The body features suggest that he may be of Nepali or Tibetan origin. The distinctive identification marks were also noted: a scorpion tattoo on his right shoulder, a small Tibetan tattoo on his left arm, a three-layer Rudraksha mala around his neck and a red thread tied around his arm.

The body was taken into custody and sent to Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College and Hospital, Tanda. The decomposed body will be preserved for 72 hours for identification. If no claimant comes forward, a post-mortem will be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.

Meanwhile, photographs of the deceased have been circulated to nearby police stations and outposts. Police have appealed to the public to provide any information that may help in identifying the man.

A police official did not rule out the possibility of a foul play and said they will look into all aspects of the death. “Only the post-mortem report will confirm whether this is a case of murder or not,” the official added.