15 days on, cops still clueless about missing Parmar

Family members — including his wife Anjanaben — say they were not aware when Parmar left as they were all in Gandhinagar at his daughter’s house.

A missing report lodged with Himmatnagar town police by his son Kiran said the ex-minister had been suffering from diabetes for the past few years. Himmatnagar PS officer-in-charge R.P. Chaudhury said: ‘‘We are trying to locate him, but our efforts till now have remained fruitless.’’

Police inquiries have revealed that Parmar has not approached anyone to book train tickets or make reservations — he usually approaches Madhusudan Mistry, Congress MP from Sabarkantha, but Mistry’s office was not aware about his plans.

Gujarat Bhawan in New Delhi also said Parmar had never gone there on or after May 20, and neither had he made any reservation.

Equally clueless about Parmar’s whereabouts, his wife said: ‘‘I don’t have any idea why he would go anywhere else when he told me he was going to Delhi. The police are also not doing much.’’

Even Congress leaders are now worried as no one seems to have seen him in Delhi before or during the swearing-in ceremony. Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president B.K. Gadhvi said, he was going to New Delhi and would make efforts to gather more information about him.

The police are also investigating if domestic trouble could be behind Parmar’s disappearance. Sources say, Parmar and his wife had an argument two days before he left.

According to a source in Sabarkantha district police, Anjanaben had left for Gandhinagar on May 19 after complaining of irreconcilable differences with her husband. However, Kiran, an employee with Gujarat State Finance Corporation (GSFC) in Gandhinagar, said his father’s disappearance could have been due to his diabetes and denied having any idea about a quarrel between his parents.

A top-ranking Congress leader, closely associated with Parmar, said, he had a quarrel with his wife on May 18. ‘‘I think he didn’t go to Delhi. Lalitbhai could be in Daman now where he has some friends,’’ the Congress leader said.