A massive search was underway in the Brahmaputra river on Wednesday for noted Assamese music composer Ramen Barua who went missing, police said.
Barua, 84, left his home in Guwahati’s Latasil area on Monday morning after an altercation with a family member, and he was last seen on the road leading to the Brahmaputra near the new Gauhati High Court building, Police Commissioner Diganta Barah said.
Several people have been questioned in the case, including his daughter Barnika Barua and brother Dwipen Baruah who is a renowned singer, he said. “On the basis of the questioning, we have come to the conclusion that he had left home as he was emotionally upset following an altercation with a family member,” Barah said, refusing to identify the person.
“According to CCTV footage, he was last seen at 10.08 am on Monday on the road leading to the Brahmaputra near the new Gauhati HC building. His mobile phone was also tracked till 10.09 am, and the K-9 also led the investigators to the river bank,” he said.
Barah said there is evidence that Barua went to the river bank but the police have no proof that he returned from there. “We are not concluding that any unfortunate incident may have happened, but we are taking all angles into consideration. The SDRF is conducting a thorough search in the downstream of the river from Guwahati to Dhubri,” he said.
A missing persons’ complaint was filed by his family after Barua did not return till late in the evening on Monday. A radio artiste of fame, he has composed music for several Assamese films, including Dr Bezbarua, Baruar Songsar, Mukuta, Lalita, Kokadeuta and Nati Aru Hati, among others.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had directed the city police to mobilise all resources and take swift action to locate him.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)
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