Alipurduar, March 2 -- A woman has been missing for over 24 hours after mysteriously disappearing while collecting firewood in the forest near Sheel Bungalow in the Barobisha Beat of Buxa Tiger Reserve, bordering Assam. Despite continuous search efforts, there is still no trace of her.
According to local sources, on Saturday morning, four residents of Barobisha - Manasa Barman, Ratna Das, Shukla Das and Bikash Das - entered the forest to gather firewood. After collecting wood, Manasa and Ratna regrouped, but Shukla and Bikash were nowhere to be seen.
The two women called out for them but received no response. Failing to locate them, they returned to the village and alerted the locals.
A search operation was launched by villagers and forest workers. By evening, Bikash was found returning home alone. When questioned about Shukla, he claimed to have no knowledge of her whereabouts. Despite extensive searches conducted overnight and the following morning, Shukla remained missing.
The Forest department has deployed a sniffer dog to aid in the search. Shukla's husband, a mechanic working in Assam, is deeply concerned
about the situation.
Debashish Sen Sharma, Deputy Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve (East), stated: "We have received the information and are actively investigating. A search operation is underway and if the woman is found, her family and the police will be notified."
As of the latest update, there has been no trace of Shukla and search efforts continue.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.