Patna: The death of 19-year-old Dipak Mandal, elder son of Bima Bharti, the JDU MLA from Rupauli, has left many questions which the police have to probe.

The boy was with his friends at a private lodge in Bazar Samiti area on Thursday night, but on Friday morning his body was found near the railway tracks, around half a kilometre from the lodge.

Dipak's friend Hrithik Roshan and Mritunjay told police that the boy had stepped out sometime after 3.30am to smoke but later his body was found near the railway track. It is still unclear how the boy reached the railway track near Nalanda Medical College and Hospital.

Two of Dipak's friends said the boy was depressed for the past few months, following his break-up with a girl, but family members were clueless. "If he had an affair with any girl he would at least have informed me," said Dipak's cousin Sanjay Mandal.

The police suspect it to be case of accidental death, but Dipak's father Awadesh Mandal, a muscleman, has hinted at a political conspiracy. His mother Bima Bharti was extreme backward castes welfare minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet in 2014-15.

Awadesh had over a 100 criminal cases of murder, loot and extortion against him and a history of rivalries with Shankar Singh and Chandan Singh of the Left Liberation Army, operating in Purnea and Araria area of Kosi region. He belonged to the extremely backward classes (EBC) and was fighting with upper caste leaders in the Left Liberation Army. He had made his wife enter active politics as he is barred from contesting elections.

In 2010, Bima was elected MLA for the first time from Rupauli constituency and she retained the seat during the Grand Alliance wave in 2015.

Being a muscleman, Awadesh had many friends and as many enemies.

Bima and Awadesh were inconsolable when Dipak's body was taken to their residence on Harding road.

Awadesh shouted, saying five persons - Shankar Singh, Chandan Singh, Santosh Mandal, Rajesh Mandal, and Mukul Mandal - had killed his son. Later, Awadesh lodged a murder case against the five persons. "These persons had killed my father and mother in 2003 and now they are after my family members," Awadesh said.

A large number of JDU and BJP leaders, including chief minister Nitish Kumar, visited Bima's residence to console his grieving family members. Art, culture and youth affairs minister Krishna Kumar Rishi, Purnea MP Santosh Kushwaha and JDU leader Sanjay Gandhi visited the MLA's residence.