DAMAULI: An Assistant Sub-Inspector of the Zonal Police Office, Gandaki, has been suspended for carrying out an erroneous investigation into the death of Purna Bahadur Ale, whose body was found hanging from a tree last week.

According to SP Bal Ram Sharma Paudel, ASI Saroj Naral had made a mistake while carrying out the deed of public inquiry on the teenager's death, which police earlier portrayed as suicide. The deceased's kin, however, have claimed that the body was hanged after his murder.

Naral will remain suspended until the investigation concludes, SP Paudel informed.

After an error was detected, the body has been sent to the Capital-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital to conduct postmortem once again.

Earlier, the postmortem was conducted at the Damauli Hospital.

Though police had to take out all the belongings of Ale while carrying out investigation, doctors at the TUTH had recovered a blade, a SIM card, Rs 1,000 cash from the victim's body.

Kith and kin of the deceased have also demanded action against police personnel for opening fire on protesters following the incident. One person was shot dead in Damauli during a protest.

Ale, a permanent resident of Byas municipality-7, Manahun, was found hanging from the tree in the premises of the Bigyanchaur-based Adikavi Bhanubhakta Campus on Monday.

He had been temporarily staying at his sister’s home in Nirmalnagar-1.

A tenth grader at a local school, he was found dead, two days after he had left home for tuition class on Saturday morning.