Five days later, CA student still missing

A bright and young final year student pursuing Chartered Accountants's course in Delhi remains untraced, five days after he went missing on the Yamuna Expressway.

His father Ambrish Maheshwari told IANS that police action had yielded no results so far.

"(There are) still no leads, no telephone calls for ransom" regarding Shubham Maheshwari, 23, the anguished father said. Hathras is located some 35 km from Aligarh.

Owner of a brick kiln, Maheshwari said his son boarded a bus from Anand Vihar in east Delhi on the morning of February 18.

"Shubham last called his mother around 9.30 a.m. from a highway toll plaza where the bus had stopped for snacks and tea. After that we have no idea what happened to him."

A statement was first given to Delhi's Shakarpur police station. An FIR was registered on February 19 at the Jevar police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Neighbours described Shubham as "a bright boy, usually calm, tall and handsome".

Bharat, a family friend in the neighbourhood, told IANS: "He never involved himself with 'mohalla' affairs and kept his distance. He is soft spoken and brilliant in studies."

Family members told IANS that the Chartered Accountants Institute should come forward to help the family.

"If the institute takes up his case and pressure the police to speed up investigation, it will be very helpful," Maheshwari said.

Till Wednesday evening, the family had not received any tip or phone call seeking ransom.

"But the suspicion of his having been kidnapped are very strong as he comes from a known business family," a local in the Dilliwala Chowk area told IANS.

This is one more instance of the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, residents say.

"Authorities cannot even secure the high-profile Yamuna Expressway from where people are frequently looted or kidnapped," complained an activist, Sachchendra Kumar Singh.

The young man was wearing a black and white check shirt with a brown jacket when he went missing.

--IANS

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