WB engineer missing in Great Rann, no trace since Sunday

Rajkot: A massive search operation was launched for an engineer from West Bengal who went missing in the Great Rann of Kutch. He entered with the authorisation of the Border Security Force (BSF) on the evening of April 6.

However, there was no trace of engineer Arnab Pal Suni Pal, who worked with private company involved in renewable energy projects. Police sources said that three people, including Sunilpal, driver Mohammad Ganikhan, and assistant Chelaram Mitharam, entered through BSF's Bela border outpost. While the driver and Mitharam were located, Sunilpal remains missing.

Kutch (east) superintendent of police Sagar Bagmar told TOI, "These people were here to conduct a survey to create infrastructure for BSF. The central govt has given a contract for this work, and they were working for a company that got the contract."

"We are conducting an extensive search by taking the help of human trackers, villagers, and drones. But Arnabpal is still missing," Bagmar added.

The Great Rann comprises remote villages near the Pakistan border. Reports suggest that while surveying the desert, the team's vehicle developed a technical glitch, prompting Arnabpal and his assistant to proceed on foot. The assistant got exhausted, and Arnabpal continued alone. Thereafter, he became incommunicado. Subsequent tracking of his footprints in the Bela desert has proven unsuccessful.

Deputy superintendent of police, Bhachau, Sagar Sambada, said more than 40 police personnel from five East Kutch stations, along with BSF and forest department teams, are searching for him in the desert region. The group registered at Bela BOP for road survey work on Sunday.

After the driver's separation from his colleagues, he alerted Bela BOP BSF. They located the assistant using his mobile signal, but poor network coverage has hampered efforts to trace Arnabpal's location.