Man found dead in Ludhiana village; cops blame drink, family alleges murder.

Ludhiana: A 22-year-old retail worker who vanished after telling his family he was going to report his snatched mobile phone to police has been found dead in a vacant plot under disputed circumstances.

The body of Karan Kumar, a shoe store salesman, was discovered on Monday at Tharike village on the outskirts of Ludhiana. While local police suspect he died of alcohol poisoning, his family alleges foul play and demands a murder investigation.

Karan, who lived with his aunt at Tharike, left his home on Sunday afternoon after claiming his phone had been stolen. When he failed to return, relatives launched a search, only to be notified by police the following day that they had located his body nearby.

Sadar’s station house officer, inspector Jagdev Singh, said a preliminary medical examination had found no visible external injuries on the body. “Our inquiries reveal that the man was last seen consuming alcohol, and we suspect he died of excessive drinking,” the cop said. “However, just to be sure, we’ll wait for the autopsy report.”

The inspector said initial findings suggested Karan had lost his mobile phone two days prior to his disappearance but police had received no official theft complaint from him. They have registered a case of unnatural death pending the post-mortem examination results.