By IANS,
Bangalore : The wife of a Karnataka legislator has been missing since June 10 when she left her home in Udupi, on the state’s west coast, to go to her parents’ house 30 km away, the police said Friday.
The car that Padmapriya, wife of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Ududpi K. Raghupathi Bhat, drove was found in the morning at Kunjargiri near Udupi. A SIM card and broken bangles were recovered from the car, the police said.
“From the information gathered so far, Padmapriya was driving the car herself. She did not reach her parents’ house and a search is on,” Udupi Deputy Superintendent of Police M.B. Nagaraj told IANS over phone.
It is also not clear whether she was travelling in the night or daytime. Maoists are active in Karnataka’s west coast.
But asked if Padmapriya, 35, might have been kidnapped by Maoists, Nagaraj said: “Unlikely.”
The 39-year-old Bhat, a second time legislator, and Padmapriya, a housewife, have two sons. The elder one is eight years old and the younger one is six, the police official said.
“We have sent a team to Sirsi, about 100 km from Udupi, as her brother lives there and she might have gone to visit him,” Nagaraj said.
The police found her car when they went to Kunjagiri in connection with another case. After learning from people that the car had remained parked there for the past three days, the police found, with the help of transport authorities, that it belonged to Bhat.
Bhat was in Bangalore all these days and left for Udupi early Friday.
POlice officers in Udupi said that Padmapriya’s family lodged a complaint about her having gone missing only Friday morning.
Bhat said he is too shocked by the development and is not in a position to answer any questions.