Hint in reporter text message to cop - Absence of struggle at spot where Chayan's bike was found, says CID
TT, Aug. 4: A purported text message from reporter Chayan Sarkar to a police officer in Alipurduar has prompted the CID to look into aspects of the case other than abduction to trace him.
According to a police source, in the purported text message on August 2, the reporter for Uttar Banga Sambad in Alipurduar had referred to an FIR he had lodged against nine Trinamul Chhatra Parishad activists and a Trinamul Youth Congress leader on July 28 after his house was attacked by a group.
The police source said that in the text message "he had said the police have not yet arrested any of the nine accused. He had also mentioned that he would take such a step which would create a sensation in the area and would mount pressure on the police."
Later that day, eight of the nine persons Chayan had named in the FIR were arrested. They got bail on August 3.
Chayan's house was attacked by alleged Triamul Chhatra Parishad activists on July 28, the same day when the Sambad had published a report by him that alleged that the student activists and leaders of Trinamul had allegedly taken bribes from HS students, promising them admission to colleges.
Chayan was reported as missing on the evening of August 2. His bike was found near Salsalabari, about 15km from Alipurduar town.
The police source said that during investigation, the CID officers found out that he was in constant touch with the local police after the ransacking of his house on the outskirts of Alipurduar town on July 28.
"He had written to the superintendent of police of Alipurduar on August 2, the same day that he was reported as missing. In the letter, he mentioned that he would start an indefinite hunger strike on August 3 in front of the SP's office, demanding the arrest of all the accused and security to his family," the police source said.
Police officers who went to the site where his bike was found said there was no evident sign of struggle.
"The motorcycle was intact and there were no scratch marks. It is true that his wallet was found but if he was forced to stop by anybody and disembark from his two-wheeler, it is natural that the two-wheeler would have fresh scratch marks and would not be so neatly parked. We are not ruling out the chance that he might have been forcibly taken away, but there are some clues which are hinting at other probabilities," the police source said.
Asked what angles the police and the CID were probing, north Bengal inspector-general of police Gyanwant Singh, said: "We are exploring all possibilities. The person has not yet returned. Investigations are in progress."
The police source said the CID officers had spoken to at least two journalists in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar.
"The investigators are of the opinion that they can provide some important information so that the missing journalist can be traced. This is why they spoke to them," the source said.
North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb, who held a news conference in Siliguri to speak on the issue, said the state government was putting in all effort to trace him.
"The chief minister is concerned and has passed necessary instructions. Accordingly, senior officers of the state police and CID are investigating his disappearance. We want him to return unharmed and the truth to be unveiled," Deb said.
"Also, it would be too much of a simplification if his disappearance is directly linked with some of the news reports he had written. Anybody might like or dislike news reports but it is hard to believe that a mainstream political party will have links with his disappearance."
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