A jovial, studious boy who had no enemies, say kin

GHAZIABAD: A sense of uncomfortable suspense hung over Banwari Lal ka Ahata in Turab Nagar of Ghaziabad on Wednesday as neighbours discussed the disappearance of 29-year-old Mukul Jain in hushed tones.

Mukul, who was pursuing his PHD from Indira Gandhi National Open University, went missing from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Monday.

The student’s mother, Renu Jain, said she got a call around 5.30pm on Monday and got to know that Mukul had gone missing from the JNU campus.

“A woman called me up around 5.30pm on Monday and told that he was not seen (Mukul) in JNU since noon. She also said that his bag, mobile had been left behind but Jain was nowhere to be seen. I then immediately called up his sister and other relatives. My daughter and son-in-law went to JNU. Later, they lodged a police complaint,” she said.

“I used to call him everyday around 7.30pm to know when he was returning home. I tried calling him on Monday too. The phone rang once, got disconnected and was later switched off. We don’t suspect anyone behind the incident. He often returned home as late as 10pm and commuted in local trains,” she added.

Mukul lost his father to a heart stroke a decade ago and had been taking care of the family with his stipend money.

“We arrived immediately after hearing the news. He is the only son in the family and had a lim- ited friends circle. He celebrated his birthday at home with his sister and brother-in-law on December 25. There have been some speculations about his relationship with a woman but we really don’t know about this. He never mentioned her to us or to his mother. Ever since he started his college, he had been spending a lot of time in Delhi,” said Vinod Jain, Mukul’s uncle.

Mukul’s school friend Ankit Kumar, who rushed to his house after hearing the news about his disappearance, claimed that he was very studious. “He was very studious. During school days, when we planned outings, he used to skip them claiming he had some work. When we returned after the outing, we would found him studying. He was very jovial and witty,” Ankit said.