CBI takes over investigation into Tripura State Rifles personnel missing since 2012

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the investigation into the disappearance of a former Tripura State Rifles personnel from Kerala, who went missing while travelling by train in April 2012, following a direction from the Kerala High Court, officials said on November 1.

The missing man, Subhash Chandra Bose, was 27 years old at the time of his disappearance and hailed from Vengoor in Ernakulam district. He was serving as a rifleman with the Third Battalion of the Tripura State Rifles and had completed seven years in the force before he went missing.

Bose was returning to his workplace in Tripura after leave when he boarded the Ernakulam-Guwahati Express (Train No. 12507) from Ernakulam Junction at 9.20 pm on April 3, 2012. According to the CBI's re-registered FIR, he was travelling on a general ticket as he did not have a reservation.

His father, P K Balan, had accompanied him to the railway station but got down at Aluva. Bose reportedly told his father that he would try to arrange a seat with the help of the Travelling Ticket Examiner.

Officials said Bose spoke to his mother over the phone on April 4 and informed her that he had reached Andhra Pradesh. The following day, he called again and said his mobile recharge balance was running low. He told his family that he would contact them after reaching his workplace, but no further communication was received.

On April 10, 2012, the family learnt that Bose had not reported for duty at his unit in Dhalai district. His father subsequently lodged a complaint at the Ernakulam Railway Police Station on April 13, following which a missing-person case was registered.

During the investigation, railway police found that Bose was last seen alive at Visakhapatnam Railway Station. The case was later transferred to the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Visakhapatnam, which registered it as a missing-person case on October 15, 2012.

Following a petition filed by Balan, the Kerala High Court last month directed the CBI to investigate both the Ernakulam Railway Police and Visakhapatnam GRP cases.

The CBI Special Crime Branch re-registered the FIR before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on October 28, officials said. The investigation is now being carried out by the central agency.