EC nodal officer yet to be traced

The Election Commission's nodal officer who has gone missing from his office here since Thursday afternoon is yet be traced, Nadia District Magistrate Sumit Gupta said Saturday.

The 30-year-old officer, Arnab Roy, was in-charge of EVMs and VVPATs for the Ranaghat parliamentary constituency.

The Nadia administration has lodged a missing complaint with the Kotwali police station at Krishnagar.

Roy's wife, Anisha Jash, also lodged a missing diary with the police on Thursday night.

"We are yet to spot our officer. The search is on for him," Gupta told PTI.

Gupta rubbished rumours that Roy was spotted in Asansol, his hometown, in Paschim Bardhaman district.

"We have shared his photographs on social networking sites, with the police of other districts, with the media and with adjoining states. There is no news of him," he said.

 

Asked whether the officer was suffering from any psychological problem due to work-related stress, Gupta said, "I do not have any idea about that."

"But we have come to know about an earlier incident when Roy had gone missing for two days. He was a joint block development officer (BDO) then," the district magistrate said.

Rumours were rife that Roy had an altercation with the district magistrate a few days ago. Gupta, however, denied it.

On Thursday, Roy had left for work from his official residence and went to Bipradas Choudhury Polytechnic College, his current place of work.

He went missing from there. His vehicle was found parked outside the college.

Both of his mobile phones are switched off and the police traced their last location near Shantipur, around 18 km from Krishnagar.

Roy's wife dismissed that her husband was "depressed".

"I want to clarify that my husband was not depressed at all. He was absolutely normal and was not tensed with anything and I will like to stress that we have been in a healthy relationship," she told reporters after meeting police officers here Saturday morning.

The Ranaghat parliamentary constituency, considered to be a stronghold of the Trinamool Congress, will go to polls on April 29, during the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.