The body of a young man from Jammu who went missing last month has been recovered in Pakistan, officials say. Harash Nagotra, 22, from a village in the Akhnoor sector, was reported missing on 11 June.
His motorcycle was found on the banks of the Chenab river, which flows through both India and Pakistan. Investigators believe Nagotra may have taken his own life by jumping into the river after losing a significant amount of money in an online gaming application.
Preliminary investigation suggested that he might have ended his life by jumping into the river after suffering a loss of over Rs 80,000 in an online gaming application, the official said.
His family has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and help bring his body back to India for funeral rites.
The family got the confirmation about Nagotra's death through a WhatsApp message from a Pakistani official after the parents reactivated a SIM card of their son who worked in a private telecommunication company.
Nagotra's father Subash Sharma said the WhatsApp message from the Pakistani official, who claimed to be posted in the post-mortem department, informed them that the body was recovered from a canal in Sialkot in Punjab province on June 13.
The official had informed the deceased's father that the body had been buried. He also sent Nagorta's identity card to the grieving family through WhatsApp, confirming that the body recovered in Sialkot is that of their missing son.
“We request our prime minister to help us get back the body of my son for last rites. We want to perform his last rites as per our religion," Sharma said.
Nagotra's relative Amrit Bhushan said they have already written to the External Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office over the matter.
"We are in a state of shock and grief and want his body back. We have also appealed to Pakistani authorities to hand over the body," Bhushan added.
(With PTI Inputs)
