Madikeri, Guwahati cops on lookout for missing retired soldier

Madikeri: A retired soldier boarded a train from Belagavi in March this year to bring a car he had bought in Guwahati, his last posting, about a year ago. For three months now, there is no news of him: his phone has been switched off, and acquaintances in Guwahati say he never reached the city.

BP Vijay, 52, was with the CRPF 175 Battalion in Guwahati before he retired in July 2018.

Although hailing from Madikeri in Kodagu, he had decided to live post-retirement in Belagavi, his wife Rajeshwari’s birthplace. Rajeshwari herself is attached to CRPF’s 135 Battalion in Gujarat and had been shunting between Gandhinagar and Belagavi. She is currently posted in New Delhi.

She had joined him in February this year to perform the last rites of Vijay’s father who passed away in Kattemadu in Madikeri. They then returned to Belagavi. The couple have two daughters.

The last Rajeshwari saw Vijay was on March 13, when he said he was boarding a train to bring his car since he had learned driving over the past year. When Rajeshwari called him to check if he had reached, his phone was inactive. In the first week of April, she contacted a woman she was familiar with in Guwahati and was told that the car was still there. The acquaintance said she was not sure whether or not Vijay had come. Rajeshwari also contacted their relatives and found Vijay had not tried to reach them.

Rajeshwari managed to renew some contacts in Delhi and Guwahati and had the car shipped to Belagavi but there has been no word from Vijay so far. She has approached police in Madikeri and Guwahati and missing complaints have bee filed.

CI Siddaiah, who registered the complaint on June 13, has requested locals to provide information on Vijay by calling on 08272-228777 or 08272-229000. On Monday, Guwahati police alerted railway stations between Guwahati and Belagavi with a photo of the ex-serviceman. Both forces have launched a joint search operation.