MANGALORE: The police, who consistently stated that reports of abduction of a “police informer” by Naxalites were baseless rumours, finally registered a missing case in Hebri police station on Saturday.When reports of abduction of Sadashiva Gowda of Kabbinale village in Karkala taluk first surfaced a week ago, the police claimed ignorance about the incident.After being in a denial mode for five days, the police swiftly changed tracks to register a missing case on the complaint filed by Sadashiva Gowda’s brother Raju Gowda.Sadashiva Gowda, who was making a living by weaving bamboo baskets, set out to collect cane from the forest in order to weave baskets on Monday, and is missing ever since.It was journalists who were first tipped off about the abduction, when a person identifying himself as Vishwa from a Naxalite group, announced the kidnapping of “police informer” Sadashiva Gowda.The police department now blames the relatives of Sadashiva Gowda for not promptly lodging a missing complaint. IGP (Western Range) Pratap Reddy neither confirmed the abduction nor denied the registration of missing complaint.He said the police were in touch with the family members of Gowda since the day he went “missing”.The department, however, had not received any call from any one, and thus had no reasons to believe it to be an abduction, police said. However not leaving anything to chance, the police had intensified its search operations by forming police teams, they added.Sources in Hebri police said the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), with the help of 20 persons, had intensified combing operations. The search parties, which returned to base camps on Sunday evening, had failed to get any clues leading to either the Naxalites or Gowda.Anti-Naxal Force DIG Alok Kumar denied any intense combing operations by the ANF. “So far, none has contacted the ANF seeking its help. If somebody consults us, we will extend all help,” he said.
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