By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, April 11: The Hungarian tourist, Puskas Zsolt, whose body was recovered on Thursday, is believed to have died from a fall.
Official sources said the magistrate’s inquest report suggests Zsolt may have fallen from a steep slope as his body bore multiple injury marks, consistent with a high-impact fall.
The sources said it was difficult to assess all injuries during the post-mortem examination due to advanced stage of decomposition of the body. The forensic team recovered identification documents which confirmed the body is of the Hungarian national.
“There is no longer any doubt regarding the identity of the body,” an official source said.
The body has been moved to the morgue at Shillong Civil Hospital. The belongings of the deceased have been collected by the Laitumkhrah police who registered the case.
Officials said the police headquarters will submit a report to the state government, which will then notify the Hungarian embassy. The embassy is expected to make arrangements to take custody of the body, the sources added.
Meanwhile, the state government ruled out any foul play. “There is no foul play as such. It is very unfortunate that he had an accident,” said Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Home (Police) Prestone Tynsong. He said the state government has been repeatedly asking tourists through various mediums to be cautious while touring mountain streams, river valleys or hill-side waterfalls.
“You can’t treat the rivers of the plain belt and the hilly area in the same way. It is totally different, so we request tourists to be careful while swimming or touring riverbeds,” he said.
The body of Zsolt was discovered around 1:30 pm on Thursday afternoon at Ramdait village on the way to Tyrna in Shella under Sohra Civil Subdivision. The Hungarian embassy had filed a missing person complaint with the local police on April 2, four days after his disappearance.
The body was found during a search and rescue operation conducted by the police, Home Guards, SDRF, and local volunteers.
According to police, Zsolt had checked into a hotel in Laitumkhrah at around 3:45 am on March 29. He checked out around 9 am the same day and took a taxi that reportedly dropped him at Mawsahew near Sohra around noon. From there, he set off alone towards Mawkawir, intending to trek to Nongriat, carrying only a backpack. He was last seen by some children at Ramdait.