The cell phone of missing corporate executive Siddharth Sanghvi was switched off just before he left his Lower Parel workplace, leading the police to suspect that whatever triggered his disappearance might have begun when he was at work, sources said on Saturday.
Mr. Sanghvi (38), a vice-president with the HDFC Bank, has been missing since Wednesday evening when he left his office in the Kamala Mills compound. The police registered a missing person’s complaint on Thursday after his family approached them. On Friday, his car was found in Koparkhairane in Navi Mumbai, with what are suspected to be bloodstains on the back seat.
Out of contact
According to the NM Joshi Marg police, inquiries with Mr. Sanghvi’s family have revealed that they tried to get in touch with him around 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday but could not get through as his cell phone was switched off.
“According to our inquiries, Mr. Sanghvi left office around 7.55 p.m. on Wednesday. We are trying to find out if his cell phone being switched off before his departure has any connection with his disappearance,” an officer who is part of the investigation said.
Looking for leads
The officer said that inquiries are under way with his colleagues, while his last dialled and received calls are also being looked into. “Cellular location mapping indicates he was in office when his cell phone was switched off. We are scanning CCTV camera footage around his office compound and along the roads leading to Navi Mumbai so that we can track his movements after leaving office. We are also looking for other vehicles that might frequently be seen near his car in the footage to find out if he was being followed,” the officer said.
The police have sent samples of the suspected blood stains from the car to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Kalina and are awaiting reports to find out if the blood is Mr. Sanghvi’s.
Meanwhile, a separate team is making inquiries with repeat offenders with a history of carjacking under the pretext of seeking lifts, and the Crime Branch has also been instructed that parallel inquiries be conducted into the matter, officers said.