Body of missing official recovered four days after boat mishap

The body of a government official was traced by a search team on Sunday, four days after he went missing following a boat capsize in river Brahmaputra in Assam's Dhubri district.

Dhubri (Assam):The body of a government official was traced by a search team on Sunday, four days after he went missing following a boat capsize in river Brahmaputra in Assam's Dhubri district, an official said. Circle Officer Sanju Das's body was found around 700 metres from the site of mishap at Aironjongla, close to Bangladesh border, by the team comprising personnel of SDRF, NDRF and BSF, the district official said.

A mechanised boat, carrying 29 passengers, had capsized in the river on Thursday after hitting a post of an under-construction bridge, around 3km from Dhubri town. Local people along with SDRF had rescued 28 people. Das, an Assam Civil Services (ACS) officer, hailed from Silchar.

Dhubri Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal had alleged on Friday that the mishap could be the outcome of a "conspiracy" and demanded that "an inquiry be conducted from that angle". Meanwhile, two employees of a private multinational construction firm have been arrested for allegedly obstructing officials from carrying out the rescue operations initially.

District Disaster Management Authorities had lodged a complaint against the firm with Dhubri Police Station under various sections of the IPC, following which the arrests were made. (PTI)