KATHMANDU: Former Kapilvastu Municipality mayor Kiran Singh, who had been missing since Friday, has been found dead, police said. Lumbini Province Police Chief DIG Bhupendra Khatri confirmed that Singh was found dead on Sunday.

According to police, the 65-year-old had left home on Friday saying he was going to an agricultural farm. When he did not return, police and local residents began searching for him the same day.
On Friday evening, Singh reportedly called people close to him and said that he had lost his way and was stranded in a forest, asking them to rescue him.
Police said his body was discovered near the area from where he had made the phone call.

A police team, including trained sniffer dogs, had been deployed in the search operation. After failing to determine his whereabouts, Lumbini Province Police had sought assistance from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), whose team was preparing to travel to Kapilvastu on Sunday.

Singh was elected mayor of Kapilvastu in 2017 as a candidate of the Nepali Congress.