Foreigner found dead in Manikaran

A Swiss national was found dead from a house near Manikaran in Kullu district, police said Tuesday. The body of Martin Karl, a Swiss national, was found from a house early Tuesday morning, Superintendent of Police (Kullu) K.K. Indoria said.

He said  Karl, 59, was staying as a paying guest for the past many days. The Swiss national was carrying multi-purpose visa. Two sachets of charas were recovered from his room, he said.

The Swiss embassy in New Delhi has been informed, the police official said.

Manikaran lies in the infamous Parvati valley of Himachal Pradesh which has a strong presence of charas mafia. No writ of the govt. runs in this region and this region is known as the FATA of Himachal Pradesh where drug mafia has been ridiculing the government for the past years by indulging openly in their activities.

A number of foreigners have mysteriously disappeared in the region presumed dead in the past.