Mumbai: Search for Bhandup executive Harsh Arora hits deadend

Harsh Arora with his family

Almost a month has passed since the sudden disappearance of the 43-year-old Harsh Arora, but there is absolutely no indication of his whereabouts. The Bhandup police, despite all their efforts to locate Harsh, have not been able to come to a conclusion yet. Apart from screening CCTV footage and eyewitnesses, the cops also questioned Harsh's colleagues, checked his internet search history and scrutinised his financial transactions to try and get some ideas regarding his disappearance.

Investigators believe there is very little possibility of Harsh having met with an accident as there are no signs indicating this. Harsh Arora lived with his wife Reena and their son at Dreams Complex, Bhandup (West). He is a fitness enthusiast and regular morning walker who would leave his house daily around 4.30 am and take a round of around 4-5 km before returning home at 7 am.

Harsh Arora

On October 30, CCTV cameras in the building lift and at the entrance show Harsh left his home around 4.25 am as usual. However, he didn't return. After a couple of hours, Reena thought that he must have gone to Thane where he had given his bike for servicing. She contacted her brother-in-law and asked him to check if Harsh had gone there, but he hadn't. After making frantic calls to friends and family, Reena called her family over and they rushed to Bhandup station where a missing person report was filed around 4.50 pm.

After the missing report, cops checked the CCTV cameras of the building and the route Harsh had taken to reach the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) junction. Footage showed him taking a right from the signal and walking on the service road towards Gandhi Nagar junction. He was also captured on CCTV footage near the Bhandup village but after that, there was no trace of him. "We checked CCTV cameras at the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) junction but he didn't reach there," said an officer.

The missing person poster

A police team spoke to morning walkers in the area to find out whether anyone had seen any accident or any scuffle on the service road. Also, cops found there were some workers cutting grass and they were questioned but the cops found no clues.

On November 2, the police brought in a sniffer dog in a bid to find some clues. But the dog couldn't pick Harsh's scent as too many days had passed since his disappearance. The team then focused on the 3 km stretch from the GMLR junction to JVLR of the service road. They also fanned the marshy land surrounding the road and a nullah to check if it was a hit-and-run incident.

Simultaneously, the police analysed Harsh's phone call records and search history, along with the messages he sent and received. Statements of his family members, friends and work colleagues (former and current) were also recorded but nothing striking came up. Exploring the financial angle revealed that the family wanted to buy a flat in the near future but there was no burden of any loan or debt.

"Since his disappearance, we have checked all unclaimed bodies across the MMR region. We have also passed on information and photographs of Harsh to police stations of Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mira-Bhaynder and Vasai-Virar," an officer said. Investigators have literally reached a dead end in the investigation, but are still in touch with Harsh's family and friends to get some clues.

"We have explored all angles and have carried out a thorough investigation, but unfortunately, we haven't had any success. Our dedicated team of Bhandup cops are working day and night to get some clues. The family is also in touch with us. We have not given up and investigations are on," DCP (Zone 7), Purushottam Karad said.

Oct 30
Day Harsh Arora went missing