• Source:JND
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Bengaluru News: The unexplained absence of a Bengaluru techie ended on a positive note when police located him at a mall near Noida on Thursday evening. Authorities found him as he was leaving the mall after watching a film. He returned to Bengaluru on Friday morning.

The techie, a resident of north Bengaluru, had been missing since August 4, leading his wife to appeal for help on social media. She expressed concern that the police were not doing enough to locate her husband.

According to his wife, he disappeared after stepping out to visit an ATM. She feared that he might have been kidnapped. Initial police efforts were not helpful as the techie had switched off his mobile phone, leaving no leads to follow. Investigators checked numerous CCTV feeds from bus stations, railway terminals and the airport, but found no trace of him.

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The breakthrough came when the techie acquired a new SIM card in Noida on Wednesday and inserted it into his old phone. This enabled the police to locate him. Officers apprehended him as he exited the mall, where he appeared surprised but somewhat amused. "When three of us surrounded him, he realised we were cops in civilian clothes. He smiled and asked what next?" recounted a senior police officer involved in the case.

According to a Times Of India report, the techie was initially resisting returning to Bengaluru, stating, "You put me in prison; I will live there, but I won't return." However, after a few hours of convincing him, he finally agreed to accompany the officers back, as they assured him that the missing person report filed by his wife would be resolved in his presence.

Upon their return at Kempegowda International Airport on Friday morning, the police conducted a brief interview before allowing him to go home.

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During this conversation, the techie stated that he had been experiencing issues in his marriage. "My wife harasses and tortures me," he said. He explained that he is her second husband and shared that they have an eight-month-old daughter together. The techie revealed that his wife, a divorcee with a 12-year-old daughter when they met three years ago, imposes strict restrictions on him. "She shouts even if a drop of rice or a piece of chapati falls off my plate. I must dress according to her. I can't go out alone to enjoy tea," he lamented.

To escape detection after his wife posted videos and pictures of him online, the techie changed his appearance by shaving his head. He told police that, after going missing on August 4, he had taken a bus to Tirupati, then travelled to Bhubaneswar by train, and subsequently made his way to Delhi and Noida.