BENGALURU: Today marks six months of disappearance of Kumar Ajitabh, a techie who had stepped out on a Monday evening to sell his car, to fund his management studies. This weekend, when many fathers were receiving loving messages and gifts, Ajitabh's father Ashok Kumar Sinha was hoping to hear from his son. He says that no family should face the hurdles they are facing in the search of their missing son.
Ajitabh, who had posted an advertisement on an online portal to sell his car to pay his IIM admission fee, had left his house around 6.30 pm on December 18 last year. He had received a call from an unknown person who claimed to be interested in buying the car. He didn't return home, and has been missing since. There is no trace of him, his iPhone or his car. The case is now being investigated by the CID.
The retired 64-year-old banker Ashok is going from pillar to post, pleading with everyone from ministers and police officers to the judiciary to hand over the case to the CBI. The father is dissatisfied with the police and SIT's investigations.
"Since January, we have been trying to get the case assigned to CBI for investigation. I have filed a writ petition and been speaking to the general secretary in Vidhana Soudha, hoping for some leads or help in the case. The ministers and police then asked us to wait until the elections are over. Now, the government should do something. The culprit is roaming free and someone else might become his victim," he says. He has a letter from the PMO to the Chief Secretary of Karnataka, to expedite the case and a letter from law minister to Karnataka government asking the authorities to take the matter seriously.
Ashok had planned to spend his retired life with his granddaughter but now, he says the sole purpose of his retired life is to find his son. "It's difficult to forget him. It feels as if our lives has come to a standstill. It's like a nightmare that doesn't end. Every day when I sleep, I wish I did not wake up the next day. All these depressing thoughts come to my mind," he adds.
Ajitabh was an exceptional man, he says. "He would do charity without talking about it. He was giving `1,000 to a boy Akhtar and his family in Chennai for his studies and their livelihood. We found out about it when they got in touch with us after noticing no money was being transferred for few months. He would also visit old-age homes on weekends sometimes. He was a spiritual person."
The investigators have been trying to explore every angle possible to solve the case. They even suspected that he left of his own will but his family disagrees. "He had just got selected in IIM Kolkata finally after trying for three years. We've been looking for a girl for his marriage too. He was very happy. Why would he leave," asks the father adding that even if he had gone to some ashram, his car should have been found.
Ashok is worried that his son may be wandering, lost. "I spoke to doctors," he says. "They say the drugs used to kidnap someone are so strong that the victim could sleep for three to seven days. These drugs have side effects too. One could lose their memory temporarily or even permanently... He might be roaming somewhere unable to recall who he is or how to communicate to his family. That may be the reason why he hasn't returned home yet. His mother has been sleeping with his picture on her chest every night."
The police say since his body has not been recovered, he could be alive. Pragya, Ajitabh's sister, says, "We have not received any information or ransom call till now. I keep my phone with me always hoping I might get a call from an unknown number with information about him. My mother has become so weak, she's not been eating properly. We've been to astrologers as well for some hope. They say he couldn't be dead and we will get news soon. But, we have lost hope in that now. I was emotionally attached to him. I miss him a lot, he was the only one in the family who would call me 'di'. I have been trying to spread the word about him online through FB pages and Twitter."
Ashok has been travelling to Delhi, Patna and Bengaluru. He lives with his flatmates when he comes to the city. "I get reminded of my son when I come to the city. His flatmates are also very disturbed. They are his childhood friends," he says. One of his flatmates and friends since nursery, Ravi, says, "I sometimes go and open the door in the middle of the night hoping he would be at the doorstep."
Divya Prakash who was introduced to Ajitabh by Ravi and has been sharing flat for over seven years is also shocked. "It is killing us not knowing his whereabouts. At least if we know he's not coming back, we could try to move on," he says.