Lucknow, Oct. 29: An IIT Kanpur student from Durgapur has been missing since he left his hostel in early September telling his parents he was going to Delhi for a few days.

Arko Roy, 24, a final-year BTech student, last called home on October 3 to say he had to stay on in the capital to attend workshops and do library work. He has been incommunicado since.

His hostel mates became concerned when he did not return even after a month and informed the IIT authorities on October 5.

Suspecting that he had gone home, the institute called his parents only to learn that they were under the impression he was in Delhi on some IIT-related work.

However, after that the IIT took over a fortnight to lodge a police complaint. It was done on October 20.

Kanpur DIG B.P. Jogdand wondered why. “We are sorry to say we were informed late by the IIT authorities. Why did they not inform us before?” he said today.

IIT Kanpur registrar Sanjeev S. Kashalkar suggested the delay was because the initial search focused on the campus and its surroundings. Students often leave hostels for the homes of their friends or colleagues, he said.

Arko’s father Asit Roy, a deputy general manager of Alloy Steel Plant, Durgapur, has been camping on the campus since October 15. However, he declined to speak today.

From Arko’s phone records and ATM transactions, the police said he had indeed been to Delhi, but from there he also went to Agra, Rishikesh, Nainital and Hardwar.

Some of Arko’s friends, who reached Delhi three days after him, could not contact him because he apparently did not take their calls.

On October 2, Arko sent an email to one of the friends accusing him of leaving him alone in Delhi, the DIG said. “He has not been in touch with his father since. But we are not sure about whether he called any other relative,” he added.