Two weeks after woman goes missing from Covid-19 ambulance, Bengaluru police still clueless

Over two weeks after a woman living in Bengaluru mysteriously disappeared after boarding a 'Covid-19' ambulance in Bommanahalli, police have still not established her whereabouts with accuracy.

The lack of progress in the investigation has prompted her in-laws to take the extraordinary step of tracing her themselves. The family said five relatives have reportedly traveled to her last known location, which is Delhi.

Read | Bengaluru Covid-19 patient disappears after ambulance picks her up

“Since September 13, they are canvassing the streets daily showing her photo to hotel establishments and to passersby, but without any luck,” said Vikas Kumar (25), the missing woman’s brother-in-law.

Archana’s (name changed) disappearance occurred on September 4, a day after an alleged BBMP testing camp was held on her street. Told that she was Covid-19 positive, Archana was taken away in an ambulance. It is the last her family has seen of her.

Police said the woman had voluntarily fled her home with the help of two male cohorts. Her family insists these men are the kidnappers.

“They are both natives of Bihar like we are, but they live in a district that is 400 kilometers from our hometown. There is no remote connection at all to our family. Although they have been identified by police, we do not know who they are,” Kumar said. He added that he and his brother (Archana’s husband) had been going to the Bommanahalli police station every morning for an update, but there has been nothing since September 15, when police said one of the men turned on his cellphone and the location tracking revealed that the phone was in Govindpuri, Delhi.

Also Read | Woman who disappeared from Covid-19 ambulance staged her kidnapping

“This phone had been used to hire the ambulance,” a BBMP official had previously told DH. The Palike has since disavowed all connection to the case.

Probe on: City police chief

City police commissioner Kamal Pant described the investigation as on-going.

When asked if the Bengaluru police had informed their counterparts in Delhi about the case, the commissioner said that “everything that could be done is being done”.

Kumar, however, said he believes the investigation has stagnated. “The police are waiting for one of the men to turn on his cellphone. In any case, they seem to believe that my sister-in-law is fine,” he said.