MUMBAI, November 11: The Meena family controversy in which an IAS officer was accused by his teacher wife of torturing her, has taken a curious turn, with the Navi Mumbai police revealing that the woman is missing from her residence.

``We need her presence desperately to go ahead with the investigation into her charges that her husband Dr Prem Singh Meena has been harassing her, but neither she nor her husband are to be found at their official residence,'' police commissioner Sudhakar Ambedkar told Express Newsline.

Santosh Meena has given her address as Panchsheel Park, but she could not be traced there even today, police said. ``After all the publicity and outrage her complaint had generated, her `disappearance' has naturally shocked us. We have been trying to trace her through our sources, without success,'' he said, refusing to comment on the allegations made in the complaint she lodged with the Turbhe police. Incidentally, Ambedkar is a neighbour of the Meenas in Panchsheel Park, where officials like managing director or Konkan Railway and joint managing director of CIDCO also reside.

In response to the allegation that the Navi Mumbai police has been ``lax'' in the investigation, Ambedkar says he is ``willing to hand over the investigation to any other agency'' and has already informed his DG and the home department accordingly.Other police sources said people in the Panchsheel compound initially chose to dismiss the frequent quarrels between the Meenas as routine husband-wife tiffs. But things apparently crossed all limits when Santosh Meena showered the choicest abuses on her husband, using language that left not only the neighbours, but watchmen and adjoining hutment dwellers aghast.

A watchman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident took place on Ganesh Chaturthi day when other officers at Panchsheel had a day off. ``Poor Dr Meena. He was helpless,'' he said. Another worker in the compound recalled that Ms Meena's eldest brother was profusely apologetic to his brother-in-law for the embarrassment caused, and requested him to forget the past.

But a neighbour, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said, ``On that fateful day another of Santosh's brothers beat up Dr Meena, who suffered an injury in his ear.'' The neighbour voiced misgivings that this influential brother was trying to foment further trouble, instead of trying to restore peace in the family. A Mantralaya source has revealed that this brother, who is also an IAS officer, brought pressure on Manohar Joshi through the Rajasthan chief minister to punish Dr Meena.

As a result, Dr Meena has been transferred out of his present posting as Commissioner of Integrated Child Welfare project, the source claimed.

Meanwhile, Santosh's allegations that her husband has been harassing her for dowry for the past 14 years have yet to be substantiated. There must be some concrete evidence to make the charges stand legal scrutiny, the police say.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.