Seen on Mahayuti ads with Eknath Shinde, man still missing in real life

A police officer said that during their investigation, they learnt that Tambe’s photograph seen on the social media ad was from 2019. The officer said they suspect his photo was randomly accessed by those who designed the social media post about the pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens without checking his background.

While speaking to The Indian Express, his son Bharat said Thursday, “We have no clues about the whereabouts of my father. The police tried to search him, but failed”. Bharat also said his father was not a beneficiary of the government scheme and was not aware of how his photo was used in the ad.

Tale of a missing man and an ad

Tambe came to the limelight in July this year after the ad with his photo about the Maharashtra Government’s Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana was shared on the Instagram handle of the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and went viral. Under the scheme, senior citizens can avail a subsidy of up to Rs 30,000 for pilgrimages to prominent religious destinations in the state and outside.

On July 18, Tambe’s son Bharat received a screenshot from his friend of a WhatsApp status someone on his contacts list had posted. The status showed a photo of CM Shinde along with his father’s image, with the caption Ata Ghadavinar Jesthana Dharmik Sthalanche Darshan (Now, the elderly can visit places of worship).”

Bharat, who runs an eatery in Shikrapur about 25 kilometres from Varude, then contacted a local journalist, and urged CM Shinde to help find his father.

Political row

The news about the missing man soon went viral and sparked reactions from the Opposition.

In an X post on July 20, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar slammed the Mahayuti government, saying its schemes and ads were “hollow”. Wadettiwar also said it was “a crime to use a photograph of a citizen in this manner illegally on the advertisement, without seeking their permission”.

Later, the Maharashtra government denied that it issued the ad featuring the missing man. “The state government has not posted this ad on any of its social media accounts. It has also not been issued via the government in any form,” a statement issued through the Director General of Information and Public Relations said.

However, Shinde Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske had then said that as far as he knew the ad was issued by the government. “But if it was our social media team that designed the post, we would surely try to trace the source of the photo so that the elderly man can be traced,” he said then.

After the controversy erupted in July, the Pune Rural police began searching for Tambe. The police said only after they approached his family, his son Bharat lodged a missing report at the Shikrapur police station on the night of July 20.

The police said after interacting with Tambe’s family, they found that he had left home multiple times in the past without informing his relatives but always came back. When he left home during the pandemic in December 2021, his family believed that he would return as usual, and did not inform the police or lodge any missing report.

The police also found out that after leaving home, Tambe would often visit places of pilgrimage. So, his family suspected he could have attended a Wari procession, where his photo may have been clicked. Accordingly, a search was carried out, but he was not found.