‘Missing’ Ex-Dhenkanal MLA Traced, Says He Was Pickpocketed

Bhubaneswar: Former Dhenkanal MLA Nabin Nanda, who was traced on Sunday after he went missing the previous evening in Kolkata, said he could not contact his family as he was pickpocketed and lost his mobile phone.

“I chased the miscreant, who ran into a hotel where a police raid was on. The police grilled me. I am safe now,” Nanda told the media.

The matter came to fore after his son, Sambit Nanda, reported that his father was untraceable. He said the former MLA was scheduled to return to Bhubaneswar on Sunday morning. When his father did not turn up, he tried to call him but found that his mobile phone was switched off.

Panicked, Sambit flew to Kolkata early in the afternoon and lodged a complaint at Shakespeare Sarani police station.

Following reports about Nanda going missing in the media, former BJD leader Baijayant Panda in a tweet to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had sought her immediate intervention. Besides, senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik too had made similar request.