Missing Navy Official Found Dead Near Mumbai
The decomposed body of a 33-year-old Navy official, who went missing during a trek at Matheran hill station near Mumbai earlier this month, has been found in a gorge, police said on Thursday.
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Police recovered a decomposed body on Monday following an alert from a trekker.
Mumbai:
The decomposed remains of a 33-year-old Navy official who disappeared during a trek at Matheran hill station near Mumbai earlier this month have been discovered in a gorge, police announced Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Surajsingh Amarpalsingh Chauhan, who served as Master Chief, Class II, at Colaba in south Mumbai and had assumed his duties just four months prior, an official stated.
Chauhan embarked on the Bhivpuri-Garbett trek at Matheran on September 7 before his disappearance, the official noted.
When he failed to return home and his mobile phone was switched off, his family filed a missing person report at the Cuffe Parade Police Station in south Mumbai, leading to case registration.
The decomposed remains were found Monday after a trekker notified the Neral Police Station near Matheran in the neighboring Raigad district, according to the official.
Earlier, following receipt of the missing person report, investigators traced Chauhan's location to the Matheran area.
Subsequently, search operations were launched by police teams with assistance from the forest department, Sahyadri rescue team, and other agencies, said Neral's assistant police inspector Shivaji Dhavale.
However, Chauhan, a Rajasthan native, remained missing for over a week.
On Monday, a trekker navigating the hilly terrain discovered a decomposed body in a 50-foot-deep gorge behind a temple near the Pali Bhootwali dam and alerted authorities.
Police and rescue teams rushed to the scene, and the body was subsequently transported for postmortem examination to the government-run J J Hospital in Mumbai, the official explained.
CCTV footage from Bhivpuri station and surrounding areas showed Chauhan walking alone toward the trek site, the official added, noting that no foul play is suspected.
The preliminary autopsy report has not specified the cause of death, with viscera preserved for further analysis, according to the official.
The Neral police have registered the case as an accidental death and continue investigating the matter, the official concluded. PTI DC GK