Souvik Pal, the Indian university student >missing since New Year’s eve , has been found dead in a canal near Old Trafford stadium in Manchester—not far from the nightclub where he was last seen after being separated from his friends.
Police said the body was found at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and was formally identified as that of the missing student. A postmortem failed to establish the exact cause of the death but police appeared to rule out foul play. More toxicology tests were planned.
“We do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding Souvik’s death and a file will be submitted to the coroner in due course,’’ said detective chief inspector Colin Larkin.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with Souvik’s family at this devastating time and our officers are doing all they can to support him.
Souvik , (18), was last seen at the Warehouse Project nightclub.. Police said the doormen at the club had asked Souvik to leave the club shortly before 11pm on December 31 after attending with six friends and flatmates. Souvik was “not described as drunk by anybody” and was ejected as the result of a misunderstanding about where the toilets were, they said.
He was reported missing by a flatmate next morning.
The CCTV footage of his last movements showed Souvik in a pale shirt pacing up and down Trafford Wharf Road outside the nightclub. He was seen walking past the club’s entrance then turning and walking back.
His father Santanu Pal, who flew in from Bangalore, said the boy did have plans to visit other parts of Britain but had not mentioned anything recently. The family last spoke to him at midnight — Indian time — on New Year’s Eve, when they told him to stick with his friends. The boy sounded in “good spirits” and was “joyous”.
Mr. Pal met MPs, handed out leaflets seeking information about his son and led a public march to highlight the case. He said he was “overwhelmed” by the support he got from the police, the large local Indian community and Souvik’s friends.
