IAS officer disappears

The disappearance of Rajesh Gupta, an Indian Administrative Services officer, has caused a flutter in New Delhi.

Gupta, who was posted in Mizoram, disappeared last Saturday. He had gone from his parents's home in Vasant Kunj to his in-laws's home in Ghaziabad. When he did not return for two days, his mother lodged a police complaint.

At his Vasant Kunj home, the police recovered a letter apparently written by Gupta to a religious mentor, stating that he had gone to see his wife on October 4 and 5, but he was turned out by her family. In the letter he had also claimed that he feared a threat to his life from his in-laws. His wife later said he had also visited her on October 7 and that he, along with three others, had threatened to harm her if she did not withdraw a complaint she had filed against him at the Patiala House courts.

Preeti Gupta said her husband was supposed to file a reply to an investigation initiated after she filed the complaint. She claimed that he had even threatened to "vanish" if she did not bow to his demands.