UP: Youth found hanging from water tank in Gorakhpur; family alleges foul play

Gorakhpur (UP), Oct 30 (PTI) Tension gripped the Pipraich area on Thursday after the body of a 22-year-old man was found hanging from a village water tank under mysterious circumstances in Gorakhpur district, police said.

The deceased was identified as Vikas alias Abhishek Bharti, a resident of Pur Mudila village under the Pipraich police station area.

According to police, the deceased's family rejected claims that he died by suicide, alleging that Vikas was murdered.

Locals, however, claimed Vikas was in a relationship with a girl from another community, which had led to tensions at home, police said.

According to his family members, Vikas had been missing on Wednesday evening and had last spoken to his father at around 9 pm, saying he was on his way home. On Thursday morning, villagers spotted his body hanging from the overhead water tank and alerted the police.

A police team reached the spot, recovered the body, and sent it for a postmortem examination, an official said.

Vikas worked as a labourer at a local shop, while his father is a mason. He was the youngest of the two brothers and a sister.

Pipraich Station House Officer Atul Kumar Srivastava said the exact cause of death will be known after the postmortem report. "All possible angles, including murder, are being investigated," he added. PTI COR ABN ARB PRK