The police found the body of the missing forest ranger of Haldwani in Bhimtal's lake of Nainital district on Wednesday morning. It appears that the ranger had allegedly committed suicide, said the police. A senior official of Nainital police told The Pioneer that a man found the body when he went to the boat stand on the lake in the morning. He observed a body floating a few metres away from the boats. He immediately called the police who retrieved the body from the lake with the help of locals.
"The police were able to identify the body with the help of a photo and ID present in the deceased's wallet. The ID helped the police to recognise that the dead man was Haldwani ranger Harish Chandra Joshi who was missing for about two weeks. The body also appears to be about two weeks old which suggests that Joshi had probably committed suicide. However, the police have sent the body for post-mortem after carrying out necessary procedures and will be able to talk about the cause of death after receiving the report. The police are investigating the matter based on the evidence gathered so far, said the official.