CBI takes over probe into Tripura rifleman's 2012 train disappearance

The CBI has taken over the investigation into Subhash Chandra Bose's 2012 train disappearance. The Kerala High Court intervention renews scrutiny of the unresolved cross-state case.Stock photo used for illustrationKochi,Nov 1, 2026 16:00 ISTThe Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the probe into the disappearance of a 27-year-old Tripura State Rifles personnel who went missing while travelling by train in April 2012, news agency Press Trust of India reported, citing officials.The Kerala High Court transferred the case to the CBI last month following a petition filed by the missing man's father. The agency's Special Crime Branch filed a fresh FIR before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on October 28.Subhash Chandra Bose, a resident of Vengoor in Kerala's Ernakulam district, was returning to his workplace in Tripura after leave when he disappeared. He was a rifleman with the Third Battalion of the Tripura State Rifles and had served in the force for seven years.According to the CBI, Bose boarded the Ernakulam-Guwahati Express, Train No. 12507, at Ernakulam Junction at 9.20 pm on April 3, 2012. He was travelling with a general ticket as he did not have a reservation. His father, P K Balan, accompanied him to the railway station and got off the train at Aluva, according to the FIR. Bose told his father that he would try to arrange a seat with the help of the travelling ticket examiner.Officials told Press Trust of India that Bose spoke to his mother over the phone on April 4 and said he had reached Andhra Pradesh. He called again the following day and told his family that his mobile phone balance was running low. He said he would contact them after reaching his workplace, but did not call again. On April 10, 2012, the family learnt that Bose had not reported for duty at his Tripura State Rifles unit in Dhalai district. Balan lodged a complaint at the Ernakulam Railway Police Station on April 13, following which a missing-person case was registered.During the investigation, the railway police found that Bose was last seen alive at Visakhapatnam Railway Station, officials said. The case was later transferred to the Government Railway Police in Visakhapatnam, which registered it again as a missing-person case on October 15, 2012.The Kerala High Court has directed the CBI to investigate both the case registered by the Ernakulam Railway Police and the one registered by the Government Railway Police in Visakhapatnam as part of its probe into Bose's disappearance.- Ends