Ibrahim Sharief

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 28: The wife of Ibrahim Sharief, the 34-year-old mining engineer, who has been missing since Monday, today spoke to the media for the first time.

Sharief’s wife, who was living with him at a rented accommodation in Patia, denied any tension in their personal life. “If anyone has kidnapped him, I appeal the kidnappers to bring him back. Even if my husband has left home over any kind of disappointment, I request him to return home,” she said.

The police have traced his mobile number in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.

“He has received two service messages on November 26 and we traced the number in Allahabad. We will check the passenger lists of various trains to trace the engineer,” said a senior police official.

The police have also asked the nationalised banks, which have provided bank accounts to Ibrahim, to inform if any money transaction takes place through ATM cards.

Police commissioner R.P. Sharma today visited the engineer’s office and interacted with his family members.

“We are trying to find a lead in the case and if necessary a police team would also be sent to other states,” said Sharma.

The missing of the engineer, who is an assistant controller with the Indian Bureau of Mines, still happens to be a mystery for the police as the motive behind his going missing is yet to made clear. “His scooter was found in good condition from a parking lot of a private bank barely 200 meters away from his office at Chandrasekharpur. On the other hand, if ransom was the motive behind his kidnap, it is strange that his family members have not yet been asked for any ransom so far,” said a police official.

Snatchers in net

Kharavela Nagar police today arrested a gang of four snatchers and seized around 18 mobile handsets from them. The police said that the four youths, including an autorickshaw operator, was involved in a number of chain snatching and mobile snatching incidents in various parts of the city.

The youths were identified as Muna Sethi, 23, a native of Nayagarh, Sukadev Biswal, 25, a native of Jagatsinghpur, Suresh Kumar Das, 22, a resident of Khandagiri and Janak Biswal, 23, a native of Angul district. The police have also seized four motorcycles and a cash of Rs 5,000 from them.

“They were nabbed during raids. Later, we found that they were involved in several other cases in the city,” said inspector in charge of Kharvela Nagar police station Nihar Ranjan Pradhan.