A police constable working at the Palpa jail has died under mysterious circumstances.

Police constable Dil Bahadur Pandey died from a bullet apparently belonging to his .303 rifle while on duty as a guard at the jail, said DSP Suman Kumar Timalsena.

DSP Timalsena said the cause of the death or whether it is a case of suicide will be determined after postmortem. The constable has a bullet injury to his neck while the police are launching further investigation into the incident.

Pandey, a resident of Aanpkhola in Arghakhanchi-9, had returned to duty after a 15-day home leave before the Bada Dashain festival.