Case of the missing techie

It has been almost seven months since techie Kumar Ajitabh went missing from his house in Whitefield.

His parents live in Mumbai and his sister and brother in Delhi. They live in anxiety and worry every moment; they have no idea where he went, or even whether he is dead or alive.

The 30-year-old lived alone in Bengaluru, and one theory doing the rounds was that he was kidnapped by someone who posed as a potential buyer for his year-old Ciaz car.

Ajitabh’s parents and family flew down to Bengaluru and gathered at Town Hall on Sunday to seek quick police action.

Metrolife met Ajitabh’s elder brother Kumar Arunabh, sister Pragya Sinha, and her husband Mimic Zadoo to understand what the family was going through.

Since December 18, the day Ajitabh drove out in his car, the family has visited Gunjur, near Varthur, countless times. That is where he was last seen. “The criminals have outsmarted the police. They have taken advantage of technology. Police say they have clues from calls made on WhatsApp and messages exchanged on email, but they have not been able to retrieve information from Google or WhatsApp,” says Arunabh.

Many CCTV cameras are in place in Gunjur, but police have told the family they have not been able to retrieve any footage. “This is hard to believe. The police must have goofed up somewhere and that is why they don’t want the case transferred to the CBI,” says Mimic Zadoo, Ajitabh’s brother-in-law.

Number on Facebook

Pragya describes Ajitabh was “a simple person who found joy in the smallest of things.”

He was not active on social media and never chatted on Facebook. He wouldn’t participate in family WhatsApp groups either.

He believed in talking to people rather than chatting online. He had put up his number on Facebook, saying he wanted people to call him rather than chat with him.

“I found that a little careless because he trusted people too easily,” says Pragya.

The family thinks OLX got his number from Facebook and began communicating with him. Whoever called him to Gunjuru had been in touch with him on WhatsApp. Police have tracked down the SIM used to communicate with him, but the case has, for all practical purposes, not proceeded beyond that point.

“They SIM card was bought in October and the crime was committed in December. Ajitabh was a victim who had been profiled. We believe more than one person is involved in the case,” says Mimic Zadoo.

Headed for Kolkata

Ajitabh was looking forward to going to Kolkata to study when he suddenly went missing. “He had just got admission at IIM-Kolkata after cracking a tough exam. In fact, he wanted to sell his car and use the money to pay his admission fees,” recalls Pragya.

The family was happy he had got into a premier institution and was busy arranging finances when they heard of his kidnapping.

“We always wondered why he would not talk to us as often as we would have liked. We later learnt from his roommates that he would devote a lot of his time to studying,” says Arunabh.

He loved cars

Ajitabh and his friends would often hire self-drive Zoom cars and go on short trips. “We have joined him on some of these trips. In fact, he bought a car only in April 2017,” says Pragya.

Ajitabh liked to pose for pictures in front of fancy cars.

“The parents are hiding their emotions so that we have the courage to trace him,” says Arunabh.

As a little boy

Pragya and Arunabh shared interesting childhood memories with Ajitabh.

“We had a large lawn in front of our house and after school, my friends and Ajitabh’s friends would fight over what to play. While I wanted to play cricket, he would want badminton,” says Arunabh.

Pragya learnt to cook only for Ajitabh’s sake. “He loved Chinese food. He would ask me to make paneer chilli and I learnt to make a couple of other Chinese dishes only for him. I haven’t cooked Chinese since he went missing,” she says.

The family says that he turned vegetarian two years ago and started focusing on his fitness.

Engineer from Manipal

A native of Patna, Ajitabh completed his schooling from Christ Church School and St Xavier’s School in Bokaro. He studied engineering at the Manipal Institute of Technology and got a job at TCS, Bengaluru.

‘No woman in his life’

Ajitabh’s elder brother Arunabh dismisses reports that a woman is involved in the case.

“We would always ask him if he was seeing anyone. But his activities didn’t point in that direction,” says Pragya.

Staying away from home?

His family has tips for those staying away:

- Keep communications lines open. Stay connected.

- Call as frequently and share your concerns.

- Keep location on in an Android. This helps your family trace you in an emergency.

He loved to read Shakespeare

He was funding a blind child’s schooling.

He loved Enrique Iglesias songs.

He read Shakespeare.

Ajitabh’s elder brother Arunabh dismisses reports that a woman is involved in the case.

“We would always ask him if he was seeing anyone. But his activities didn’t point in that direction,” says Pragya.

What happened on Dec 18

Ajitabh puts up his Ciaz for sale on OLX.

A potential buyer calls him.

Ajitabh goes to Gunjur, near Varthur, to meet the buyer.

He goes missing in the car.

Police say they can’t reveal progress in the case.

Family suspects police are taking it easy.

Keep it secret

Police have told the High Court they would like to keep the investigations secret for the moment. The court has agreed confidentiality is best in the interests of Ajitabh’s family.