The body of a tourist who had drowned in a river in the Sunderbans early on Thursday morning was fished out in Gosaba on Friday.

Police said Prasenjit Goswami, 43, a resident of Dakshin Nararthali in the Kamakshyamaguri area of Kumargram, had fallen into the river allegedly in an inebriated condition near Pakhiralaya at Gosaba while at a deck party with seven friends.

The police had launched a search on Thursday morning. The body was found about 24 hours later at a location around 500 metres from the spot where Goswami had drowned.

Canning sub divisional police officer Dibakar Das said: “Our rescue team recovered the body from the river close to the zilla parishad office in Pakhiralay. The body was later sent to Alipore police hospital for autopsy.”

Sources said the autopsy confirmed the existence of alcohol in the stomach of the deceased. “The man was drunk and fell into the river. There was no foul play,” a police officer said.

The police arrested the boat operator on the basis of a complaint lodged by the family of the deceased. He was charged with negligence not amounting to culpable homicide.

He was booked for violating the prohibition on night-stays on boat in the riverine delta.

Family members of the deceased identified the body, which was handed over to them late in the evening.

“A group of eight tourists from Kumargram arrived in Gadkhali on Wednesday and hired a tourist boat for a joy ride on the riverine stretch along Pakhiralay. The boat was later anchored on the bank near a guest house. But the team members decided to party at night on the anchored boat,” the police officer added.