On a Delhi trip,IIT-K student goes missing

New Delhi on September 9 but is yet to return.

Arko Roy,who hails from Durgapur and is a student of computer science and engineering,had told his family that he was going to Delhi on a personal visit.

Almost a month after he did not return,Arko’s batchmates informed the authorities about his absence,following which his family was also informed.

After the authorities and the student’s family failed to trace him,a missing complaint was filed with the Kalyanpur police station on October 20.

“During the initial investigation,it has come to light that Arko had spent these days in New Delhi,Rishikesh,Agra,Varanasi and Nainital. We have collected the information by tracking his cellphone and his ATM transactions,” said DIG (Kanpur) V P Jogdand.

A police team,which had gone to Delhi in trail of Arko,found that he was accompanied with an “unidentified” friend. “Whether the friend is a man or a woman,we don’t know,” the DIG said.

The police are yet to figure out the reason behind Arko’s mysterious disappearance.

“When we were informed about his absence,we checked the hostel rooms,as often students shift to rooms of their close friends and colleagues. But

when Arko could not be traced,we informed his father on October 5,” said IIT-K Registrar Sanjeev S Kashalkar.

Till then,Arko’s family did not know that he had gone missing. “Arko last contacted his father on October 3,but there has been no communication between the student and his family members since then,” added Kashalkar.

On October 12,the IIT-K authorities asked Arko’s father,

Asit Roy,to come to Kanpur at the earliest. Roy,who reached Kanpur on October 15,made several attempts to trace Arko along with the IIT-K authorities but to no avail.

Roy,who is the general manager in Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) at Durgapur and has been staying at the IIT-K guest house since then and has refused to speak to the media.

When asked why the institute did not take notice of Arko’s absence in the first few weeks,Kashalkar said: “Since attendance in class is not compulsory for students at the IIT-K,no one took much note of Arko’s absence in September.”

The registrar added that in the first two years,Arko’s academic performance was outstanding. “But his performance deteriorated drastically after that,” Kashalkar added.