Ardent nature lovers abducted by mistake,say families

Apart from the call made from Soumyajeet’s phone after 11 pm on Friday,the families had not been in touch. The two men’s phones have been switched off since.

“He said I want to see the Ayodhya forests during full moon,and set off. He has always been like this ¿ an avid,nature loving,adventurous soul,” said Abhijeet Basu,elder brother of Soumyajeet.

Soumyajeet has previously gone camping in the forests of Dooars,North Bengal and even the Ayodhya forests.

He loves nature,especially the hills and jungles so much,that he has christened his two-year old son Aranya (forest) and calls him by the pet-name Roddur (sunlight).

“He has never meant harm to anybody and we are optimistic that his abductors will soon realise that they have taken the wrong person,” said Sumita Basu (67),Soumyajeet’s mother,a retired Additional District School Inspector.

Soumyajit,a geography teacher in the neighboring Kamarhati High School,is known by everybody as a man who loves children and is always doing some kind of nature activism.

“Tomorrow,at 10.30 am,his students will appeal to the abductors to set him free,” Abhijeet said.

Though their professions have been very different,love for nature has helped Soumyajeet and Partha bond for long.

A pall of gloom has descended over Partha’s Naihati residence.

“My son is an innocent,spiritual person,” said Nirmal Biswas (70),Partha’s father. “He has always led a very adventurous life ¿ he even went to Kargil during the war just to get a feel of it. There must have been some miscommunication and misunderstanding. I am sure he will return.”

Partha’s neighbours said he loves to explore new places,especially jungles and hills and he distributes stationary material among the poor children in such areas.

Previously he has visited the jungles of the north-east and he especially loves the terrains of Assam. An ardent social worker,Partha has lately enrolled himself for a distance education course on social work.

“It was his dream to set up a medical camp there. He reached there on October 20 and was talking to local people regarding the plan. The last time we talked was on Lakshmi Puja. After that,there is no trace of him,” said Barnali Biswas,Partha’s wife,who has previously accompanied him in several medical camps at Kumra near Bandwan and Kurupdi in Purulia.

“The job in IB is just a way of sustenance,” she said. “He is a human being who loves to do certain things. He has gone there to do social work. Anybody who has abducted him must have made a huge mistake. Please return my husband safely.”