BENGALURU: Demanding Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, family members and friends of missing software engineer Kumar Ajitabh have planned to stage a peace protest in the city in the last week of this month. The 29-year-old engineer, hailing from Patna, has been missing since December 18 when he had gone to meet a prospective buyer of his car that he had listed on an online marketplace.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is currently probing the mysterious case, has failed to find any clues in the past four months.
A post on ‘Find Ajitabh’, a Facebook page created to help find Ajitabh soon, reads, “Ajitabh’s family and friends are organising a protest in the last week of April at Bangalore. We need your support to kindly join us and raise your voice against the indifferent attitude of the police and the government towards the case of Kumar Ajitabh ‘Missing Techie From Bengaluru’, ‘OLX Missing Techie’. Crimes are its extreme level and the government needs to take prompt actions against the atrocities of ‘the nefarious activities of the organised-crime syndicates’. The citizens of India just expect to leave a peaceful and safe life but going outside to work or study is becoming threatening and horrific. We need an assurance about public safety, be it a boy or a girl.”
The date of the protest is yet to be decided and will be known once the organisers get permission from the authorities concerned.
A member of Ajitabh’s family told The New Indian Express, “We are holding the protest just to seek justice. It has been four months and the police have not made any breakthrough in the case. They are just telling us they are working on all angles. If they cannot find a missing person or the criminals who kidnapped him for four months, it’s time for them to do something about upgrading the technology they use or the way they investigate an incident.”
He also alleged that the police, who had not bothered to take the case seriously for almost a week after the Ajitabh went missing on December 18 last year, woke up only after the news went viral on social media platforms. “Since the beginning, they have been telling us that we should not ask for CBI probe, as the local police have better manpower and information about criminals.
Also, they insisted that we not approach the media houses as it would build pressure on them. Though they knew that the suspect was in touch with Ajitabh from December 7 to December 18, through calls and messages on WhatsApp, they could not trace him. We have lost hopes that the local police or the CID can crack the case and hence holding protest seeking CBI probe into the case,” he added.
Further, the police way of dealing with Ajitabh’s friends as part of the probe has also upset the family. “The police questioned some of his friends to get leads. We have no problem with it. But the police told them that Ajitabh’s family suspected their (friends) role and hence they (police) were questioning them. This has created a rift between the family and some of Ajitabh’s close friends,” he alleged.
FOUR MONTHS ON, COPS CLUEless
December 18, 2017:
Whitefield resident Kumar Ajitabh receives a call from an unknown person claiming to be a prospective buyer for his car. Ajitabh leaves home around 6.30 pm to meet the buyer, and has been missing since then.
December 20, 2017
Ajitabh’s friend and flatmate Ravi Kumar lodges a complaint with Whitefield Police Station.
December 22, 2017:
OLX shares initial information with city police.
December 26, 2017:
City police seek additional inputs
December 29, 2017:
Ajitabh’s father Sinha lodges another complaint
January:
Sinha approaches High Court seeking referring case for CBI, SIT constituted following HC direction
March:
As SIT fails to make much progress, case is
transferred to the CID