Karwar: Four days after a scientist from a nuclear power plant at Kaiga disappeared, the police intensified their search for him and said Lokanath Mahalingam was a senior official who had access to sensitive nuclear secrets.
Mahalingam went jogging on Monday morning and has been missing since then. His family says he was not in the practice of carrying any money or valuables with him and are clueless about what could have happened.
Colleagues described Mahalingam as an introvert with few friends. About ten years ago, when he was working in the Kalpakkam atomic station, he had disappeared for five days. On his return, he reportedly said that he had gone away to seek spiritual solace. Believing that he may have done so this time as well, the police have despatched teams to Tirupati, Dharmasthala and a few other religious places. Locals fear kidnap, cops don’t agree
Karwar: Although locals fear that Lokanath Mahalingam, a scientist at the Kaiga nuclear power plant who went missing on Monday, may have been abducted, the police have discounted the theory. But five years ago, armed persons had accosted a Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) official in the same forest and tried to kidnap him. Six weeks ago, Ravi Mule, another NPC employee, was found dead in the township after going for a morning walk.
“We are clueless,’’ plant director Sanath Kumar said. “He’s a nice person and has no enemies.’’ Mahalingam’s relatives in Chennai too are baffled. Brother L Indrajith said, “My brother used to go for a walk inside the campus everyday at 5.30 am. He generally returned by 6.30 am or 7. On Monday, he did not return. The guards had not seen him leaving the campus.’’
The Kaiga plant stands near a big naval base, Project Seabird. Mahalingam trained apprentices on a replica of the reactor and knew its working. TNN
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