Techie missing,family gets a ‘ransom call’

A resident of Kasba in south Kolkata,Sandipan left his office around 7.30 pm on Friday. According to the police,around 11.30 pm,the family of Sandipan received a call from his mobile number and an unknown voice told them they would have to pay Rs 25 lakh if they wanted him back. Sandipan’s father Samiran filed a missing complaint with the New Town police station around 12.15 am on Saturday.

“After preliminary investigation,we have come to know that around 7 pm on Friday,Sandipan started feeling unwell. After half-an-hour,one of his colleagues dropped him at EM Bypass,from where he boarded a taxi for his residence after which he became untraceable. The colleague who called the cab is being questioned by the police,” said a senior officer.

Another police officer said after having tracked Sandipan’s mobile phone from which the alleged kidnappers were calling,their location was found to be somewhere near Barasat in North 24-Parganas,about 20 km from Kolkata. The police also claimed to have some other leads but refused to disclose these.

According to the police,Sandipan’s father Samiran is a retired bank employee and Sandipan is the only earning member in the family. Sandipan got married three years ago and has a baby.

When contacted over phone,Gautam Dasgupta,a relative of the abducted IT professional,refused to give any information saying Sandipan’s life is at stake.

A police officer,however,said the amount of ransom has been reduced to Rs 20 lakh after negotiation.