A Class XII student from Vashi has been missing from his residence at Archana Jyoti housing society, Sector 17, since Sunday night.
Naman Dutt, son of BARC research scientist Bhaskar Dutt and psychologist Chandra Ramamurthy, left his house around 11 p.m.
Ms. Ramamurthy said, “He went to bed early as usual, so it was a normal night for us. But at 1 a.m., when my husband woke up to drink water, he found the light in Naman’s room was on. When he checked, Naman was nowhere to be seen. We searched the places where he would usually be, and looked till Nerul railway station, but could not find him. We checked the CCTV camera footage of the society, and saw him leaving with his rucksack around 11 p.m. We feel guilty for not being awake at the time.”
A student of Pace Science Junior College, Naman had been on anti-depressants for the past six months and had been taking regular counselling sessions to treat his depression. “Being a psychologist, I understood when he needed help. He used to have bad and good days, but Sunday was not one of his low days,” Ms. Ramamurthy said.
On Friday, a Dubai-based cousin of Naman died after falling during a trek. “Being an introvert, Naman did not show that the incident had affected him, but we believe it did. Besides, the academic environment is also very stressful,” she said.
The Vashi police are procuring CCTV camera footage from his residence up to the railway station and have tracked him up to Vashi Plaza. “His phone is switched off, hence we are not able to locate him. Our team is working on the CCTV camera footage and his call records,” senior police inspector Anil Deshmukh from Vashi police station said.
His parents suspect that he could have probably boarded a train from Vashi as he was used to travelling in local trains.
