Karnataka BJP MLA’s wife goes missing in naxal-infested area

The 35-year-old wife of a BJP MLA in Karnataka has been reported missing for the last four days since she left her home in Udupi to go to her parent’s house 30 kms away.

The mysterious disappearance of Padmapriya, wife of BJP MLA Raghupathi Bhat representing Udupi, came to light only on Friday after the car she was driving was found abandoned at Kunjargi village which situated at a distance of 10 kms from Udupi.

Padmapriya was last seen when she left her house in Udupi on Wednesday morning to attend a religious ceremony at her parent’s house in Karnad in adjoining Dakshina Kannada district. She went alone driving the car without any co-passengers through Udupi’s countryside, which is in the grip of naxal menace.

In the absence of any communication between members of her house in Udupi and her parent’s house in Karnad, Padmapriya’s disappearance went unnoticed till the residents of Kunjargi village noticed an abandoned car.

Though the locals found the car parked for three days, it had not been brought to the notice of the police. When the information reached the police on Friday, they traced the owner of the vehicle, who turned out to be the local MLA Raghupathi Bhat.

A team of policemen reached the spot and found broken glass bangles in the driver’s seat, besides some bloodstains. The police also recovered a handbag containing a cash of around Rs 10,000, a gold ring and a mobile phone without the SIM card.

The police swung into action by blocking all entry and exit points to the area. A sniffer dog squad was also pressed into action while anti-naxal force launched combing operations in the adjoining forest areas. BJP workers, who had gathered in the village in large numbers, began searching the ponds and caves located in the vicinity.

Raghupathi Bhat, who was in Bangalore, rushed to Udupi along with Home Minister V S Acharya and visited Kunjargi village late on Friday evening. Bhat was in a state of shock and was having a tough time consoling his two children. Bhat, 39, is a two-time legislator representing Udupi. He has two sons aged 8 years and 6 years.

When the police was asked whether Maoists, who are active in the area, could have kidnapped Padmapriya senior police officials refused to comment on the matter. “It is too premature to say anything now. We are carrying out the investigation”, said Inspector General of Police (Western Range) A M Prasad.
Karnataka police along with anti naxal force personnel continued to scour the Kunjargi hills to find the whereabouts of Padmapriya for the second day on Saturday.