Family prays for missing son's return for a truly happy New Year

Bhaskar Asodiya

It is going to be a dismal New Year's Eve for the Asodiya family in Ahmedabad unless they find their son who went missing after alighting from a train at Borivli station on December 10. Bhaskar Asodiya, 35, is a bank manager in Metoda village, where he lived with his wife and two-year-old son. He came to Mumbai, claiming he had to attend a training conference here. His family never heard from him again. Then they discovered there was never any conference.

'Has to be foul play'
But his family members refuse to believe that Bhaskar has abandoned them. They said, "He was so attached to his son, I am sure that he must be missing him and would have wanted to be back in Metoda with his wife and son." Bhaskar was accompanied by his younger brother Kunal on the journey from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Kunal said, "Bhaskar is the oldest of three brothers. I was returning to my home in Thane, and Bhaskar joined me, saying he had a bank training meet in Mumbai for one week. We alighted at Borivli station. I went to catch a bus to Thane, while Bhaskar said he had to go to Churchgate. We never heard from him again."

The family said there was "nothing unusual in Bhaskar's behaviour". The only thing that stood out to Kunal was his brother's bag. "My brother was carrying a very small bag for a training stint that was to go on for a week. But, I did not think too much of it," said Kunal.

His phone rang recently
They have filed a complaint at the Kasturba police station in Borivli East. "We do not know what has happened, and apparently neither do the police. We have also complained to the railway police," said the desperate family. Bhaskar's father, R S Asodiya, said, "We have had no information from the police. Our hearts literally jump when we hear the phone ring."

Bhaskar could hardly have got lost, as he was familiar with Mumbai, having worked in the city before. The Asodiyas fear that he is being held against his will. They added that there were two ATM transactions traced to a Bombay Central ATM, totalling roughly R5,400 from two different cards on December 10. Bhaskar's phone had been off since then, but Kunal said, "His phone rang recently, and I informed the police at once. An SMS I sent was also delivered. The police must act on this and try to trace his location."

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