Official of pharmaceutical company missing

Gwalior, Jan 19: President of a pharmaceutical company went missing en route on Friday evening. The man was on his way to Indore from Gwalior after attending Exportech 2008. The car on which he was traveling was found abandoned in Dholpur district of Rajasthan. Driver was also informed to be missing. Though, no ransom call was received till the last report received but the cops after conducting initial investigation did not rule out possibility of abduction.

Police have launched a search for Ashwani Kumar Bhat, president of pharmaceutical major Nicholas Piramal India Limited, whose abandoned car was found from Rajasthan. Piramal group chairman Ajay Piramal said it was a matter of concern. "We are taking all steps and working in all directions to trace Bhat," Piramal said. According to information available here, Bhat had left Indore to attend a conference in Gwalior Friday. He delivered a speech at an investors' meet organised by the Madhya Pradesh government before leaving for Indore in his Toyota Corolla.

Bhat was expected to return home here late Friday, but had not till late Saturday. His family and top company officials made repeated attempts to contact him, but his cell phone remained switched off. Even his driver's phone remained switched off, sources in the Mumbai-headquartered firm said. Bhat's family lodged a complaint with the Indore police.

Indore Superintendent of Police Anshuman Yadav said that while it was too early to say if Bhat had been kidnapped, police teams were on the lookout for him. Yadav said the top executive's vehicle was found abandoned in Dholpur district of Rajasthan bordering Madhya Pradesh, around two hours' drive from Gwalior. Indore and Gwalior are around 250 km apart. Yadav said there were no leads on the whereabouts of Bhat and his driver till late Saturday.