Digboi: A well-known Class-I contractor with Indian Oil Corporation’s Assam Oil Division (AOD) has been missing for the past four days. The missing individual has been identified as 66-year-old Putul Sarma, according to his family and colleagues.
Sarma, the owner of M/S Prasanna Welding Industries, resides in Borbil No. 1, Digboi, in Assam’s Tinsukia district. He was last in contact with his family and colleagues on Tuesday, Aug. 12. Since then, attempts to reach him by phone have been unsuccessful.
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His wife has since filed a missing-person report at the Digboi Police Station, prompting search efforts around the township and his usual work sites.
While the police have not released further details or confirmed the cause of his disappearance, there is no official indication of foul play.
The prolonged lack of contact has raised concerns among his colleagues, local residents, and workers associated with his business, many of whom have expressed worries about unpaid salaries and dues.
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A recent update from a family member indicates that Sarma was last seen walking toward Margherita at around 10:30 p.m. on the evening of August 12. It is reported that he did not carry his mobile phone and left the keys to his vehicle at his office.
In a statement, his son, Darshan Sarma, mentioned, “He often loses his temper over trivial matters at home.” Additionally, Sibu Debnath, an employee who has been with the company for 42 years, noted, “He had left home before and returned after two days.”
Community leaders have urged anyone with information to come forward. “We encourage anyone who might have seen or heard from Mr. Sarma since August 12 to contact the authorities or his family,” a relative said.
The incident has also drawn comparisons to a similar case from October 2014, when Kaushik Bora, then an Executive Director-designate at Digboi Refinery, went missing after leaving home in his car.
Following an extensive search, Bora was found unconscious along the Digboi–Pengeri–Bordumsa road.