BERHAMPUR: Mystery continues to shroud the disappearance of Gram Rojgar Sevak (GRS) Swagat Panda who went missing on Monday night. Panda, a native of Chhatrapur, was staying in Purusottampur since the last one and a half years. He was in charge of Solaghar and Sunathara panchayats in the block.
Sources said the GRS left home at around 9.30 pm on Monday reportedly to meet the block development officer (BDO) of Purusottampur. But he did not return home till next morning and his mobile phone was switched off.
When Panda’s wife contacted the BDO, the latter said the GRS did not meet him but spoke to him over phone about some projects. The worried wife then lodged a missing complaint in Purusottampur police station on Tuesday. The same day, locals found Panda’s cellphone at Harijan Sahi Chowk and his bike lying at Gada Sahi.
While scanning the footage of a CCTV camera installed at a petrol pump on Berhampur-Purusottampur road, police found Panda walking alone at around midnight. Footage of another CCTV camera at a dhaba near the petrol pump also showed the GRS walking towards Rushikulya river near Ranajhali village.
Initially, it was suspected Panda might have been abducted. But since CCTV footage shows the GRS walking alone on the road, police are scanning his call details to get clues about his whereabouts. The CCTV footage of both the places have been recovered. Family members and relatives of Panda are being questioned now, said police.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Purusottampur Suryamani Pradhan said, “We are investigating the case from all angles. Police are contacting the numbers found in Panda’s cellphone. We are hopeful of solving the mystery behind his disappearance soon.”