CISF jawan goes missing from watchtower after distress call

Policemen inspect the spot from where the jawan went missing. ( Source: Express photo by Narendra Vaskar )

The Nhava Sheva police in Navi Mumbai are probing the mysterious disappearance of a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan who went missing from his post at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) Monday morning. The missing constable had made a distress call to his control room around half-an-hour after he came on duty and had disappeared by the time help arrived.

According to the police, the missing jawan has been identified as Sahida Banu (27), a native of Andhra Pradesh posted with Uran unit of the CISF. Around 5 am Monday, he reported to duty at JNPT and was put on sentry duty at a watchtower. The police said the CISF security control room received a call from his cellphone around half-an-hour later in which he said some people were coming to assault him and asked for help.

“The control room sent some jawans to the watchtower to investigate but Sahida had gone missing by then. His cellphone was lying on the ground and was switched off. We searched the forest surrounding the JNPT on Monday and Tuesday, but did not find him,” said senior police inspector Rajesh Devare of Nhava Sheva police station.

“Sahida had only been transferred to Uran from Goa two days ago and we don’t think he could have got into any fights with anyone during this time. We have registered a complaint of kidnapping against unknown persons,” Devare added.

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