Sandipan Das, a software engineer working in a private company in Sector V, did not return to his residence after he started from his office late evening. Late at night, his family members reportedly received a ransom call.

A resident of Kasba in south Kolkata, Sandipan left his office around 7.30 pm on Friday. According to the police, around 11.30 pm, the family of Sandipan received a call from his mobile number and an unknown voice told them they would have to pay Rs 25 lakh if they wanted him back. Sandipan’s father Samiran filed a missing complaint with the New Town police station around 12.15 am on Saturday.

“After preliminary investigation, we have come to know that around 7 pm on Friday, Sandipan started feeling unwell. After half-an-hour, one of his colleagues dropped him at EM Bypass, from where he boarded a taxi for his residence after which he became untraceable. The colleague who called the cab is being questioned by the police,” said a senior officer.

Another police officer said after having tracked Sandipan’s mobile phone from which the alleged kidnappers were calling, their location was found to be somewhere near Barasat in North 24-Parganas, about 20 km from Kolkata. The police also claimed to have some other leads but refused to disclose these.

According to the police, Sandipan’s father Samiran is a retired bank employee and Sandipan is the only earning member in the family. Sandipan got married three years ago and has a baby.

When contacted over phone, Gautam Dasgupta, a relative of the abducted IT professional, refused to give any information saying Sandipan’s life is at stake.