BENGALURU: Months after the curious case of techie Kumar Ajitabh grabbed headlines, sleuths are grappling with another
missing case — that of a 24-year-old service manager of a five-star hotel. Incidentally, he also went missing from Whitefield, the same area where Ajitabh was last seen in December 2017.
While the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is probing the techie case, Whitefield police have launched a hunt for
Vipin Chandra Bhat, a native of Uttarakhand and graduate in hotel management. He went missing on May 3, a day after he joined work in Bengaluru. His mobile phone was last active in
Nandi Hills, Chikkaballapura, around 4.19pm on the same day, said police.
Vipin’s father
Baldev Dut Bhat, a priest, who has come to Bengaluru in search of his son, is making rounds of Whitefield police station, Nandi Hills and neighbouring places. He told TOI that one of his family members got a message from Vipin on May 3 saying he was at Nandi Hills.
Subash, a friend of Vipin, said after the latter arrived in Bengaluru, he stayed with his friends-cum-colleagues on Nallurahalli Road in Whitefield. He joined work on May 2 and took leave the next day without informing his roommates. According to Vipin’s family members, this was his second stint in Bengaluru. Subash said Vipin had come to Bengaluru in April 2017 and worked with a hotel for six months. However, he went back to Uttarakhand after he slipped into depression, and subsequently underwent treatment in Delhi for a few days.
On May 3, Vipin left the room but didn’t return. When his roommates failed to get in touch with him, they informed his parents the next day. They registered a complaint with Whitefield police, who scanned his room and revealed that Vipin had reached Bengaluru on April 29 and taken a flight to New Delhi on the same day before returning to the city. Why he went to Delhi is a mystery, Subash said.
TOI tried to contact DCP (Whitefield) Abdul Ahad but his phone was switched off. An officer from Whitefield police station said a team has been formed to trace Vipin.
Box: Ajitabh case hits dead end?
CID police have made no headway in the case of missing techie Ajitabh, 32. Sources said it’s a mysterious case, and efforts of Whitefield police in tracing him have been futile. “We have no clues. The only way we can make progress is by seekingpublic help through various means,” a source said.
Ajitabh went missing on December 18, 2017 after he stepped out to meet a potential buyer of his car, who had contacted him on OLX, an online platform to sell and buy used goods.
