Almost a month after Bengaluru techie Ajitabh Kumar went missing, the Karnataka High Court asked Bengaluru’s Commissioner of Police T Suneel Kumar to form a Special Investigation Team comprising senior police officers to probe the matter.
On Tuesday, the High Court was hearing a writ petition filed by Ajitabh’s father Ashok Kumar Sinha, which sought a CBI probe into the matter.
Justice AS Bopanna, who was hearing the petition, observed that no significant headway has been made, and criticised the manner in which the investigation was conducted.
According to sources, the decision to form a SIT came after Ashok Kumar expressed his concern that his son may be in grave danger. Ashok also feared that his son may be used for anti-national activities.
The court will hear the matter again on January 22. It has asked the police to file a report on the matter.
Speaking to TNM, Whitefield DCP Abdul Ahad said that the SIT will be formed by Wednesday evening.
Background
Ajitabh Kumar, a 29-year-old software engineer working in the city, went missing on December 18, 2017. He was last seen driving out of his residence in Whitefield.
According to his friends, Ajitabh, who hails from Patna, was supposed to meet a prospective car buyer. Ajitabh was selling his car on online marketplace OLX. He left home around 6:30 pm on December 18, supposedly to meet the interested buyer, and did not return.
A missing persons case was registered only on December 20, 2017. The police could not trace him. Neither his phone nor his car was found.
Police officers investigating the case had earlier told TNM that his last traced location was Gunjur, near Whitefield.
According to Whitefield DCP Abdul Ahad, one of the prospective buyers with whom Ajitabh was interacting was using fake details and might have also procured a phone number using false documents.
The police earlier said that they suspect that the prospective buyer might have contacted via WhatsApp. WhatsApp has not responded so far.
Sources within the team investigating the case told TNM that no headway has been made even after drones were deployed to look for Ajitabh.
Meanwhile, Ajitabh’s father also initiated campaigns on social media to locate Ajitabh. The family is worried that Ajitabh may have been grievously injured, unconscious or admitted in a hospital somewhere.
“What if he is undergoing treatment in any hospital that we don’t know about? What if he is hurt?” Ashok Kumar had earlier told TNM.