Swapnendu Mukherjee with his wife

Bokaro, Jan. 18: Six hours after Swapnendu Mukherjee (57), a senior AGM with Bokaro Power Supply Company Limited (BPSCL), was allegedly abducted, his ATM card was used to withdraw virtually the entire amount lying in his account with the Dhanbad branch of UTI Bank.

“It is possible that the card was used by the abductors,” said Bokaro DIG Anurag Gupta, “but nothing can be said conclusively as yet.” Police teams have been sent to Purulia (Bengal) and to Dhanbad to trace the missing officer and his Alto bearing number JH-09F-1766.

Mukherjee had driven out of Bokaro himself, since his driver had failed to turn up, and was on his way to Dhanbad to look up his ailing sister. He was carrying Rs 25,000 in cash and some ornaments, and planned to return by late evening.

While he left home at 11 am, he used his mobile number (9334250754) to call home at 1 pm. He claimed to be speaking from Mahuda More Bazaar, just about 20 km from Bokaro, and said he had met with an accident. But he assured them he would reach Dhanbad within the next hour and hung up after saying he would give details later.

His worried daughter, Swarnali, rang back her father to enquire what was wrong and whether she should ask her uncle to rush to Mahuda. The officer, the police was told, sounded agitated and insisted on speaking to his wife first. But he had barely managed to tell her that everything would be fine when it was disconnected. Soon thereafter the cellphone was switched off and all attempts to contact him failed.

Apprehending that Mukherjee might have been involved in a minor accident and held hostage by a mob, family friends rushed to Mahuda More but could find no sign of the officer or his car. Nor did they get any information of any accident on the way.

Youngest of five brothers, Mukherjee had settled down in Bokaro. His brothers today rushed from Calcutta on hearing the news and apprehended that the officer has been abducted for ransom. While no ransom call was received, the Mukherjee household claims to have been at the receiving end of several blank calls today, heightening their tension.

While family members ruled out any personal enmity or property dispute as a possible motive, police are investigating if Mukherjee had anything to do with granting lucrative contracts. BPSCL is known to have floated tenders for the supply of equipment worth Rs 300 crore in order to complete the expansion of Bokaro Steel Plant and a new power plant.

Contractors from Bihar, UP and Jharkhand are also known to have converged here to grab a share of the pie. Many of them have unsavoury reputation and a dubious background with links with the underworld. Police are investigating if the abduction had anything to do with the award of a tender.