Snapdeal employee remains missing 24 hours after abduction

NEW DELHI: A female employee of Snapdeal, India’s largest online marketplace, has been allegedly abducted late on Wednesday night, while she was returning home after work.

According to media reports, Dipti Sarna, 24, an executive working in Snapdeal’s legal department, was in an auto rickshaw, travelling back from the company’s new offices in Gurgaon, to her home, when the incident occurred. The abduction is believed to have taken place in the town of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, and which lies adjacent to the country’s capital.

According to the reports, Sarna usually took the metro home to Ghaziabad, and would then take an auto rickshaw to get to her house from the Vaishali metro station, also one of the busiest metro stations in the National Capital Region. The reports also stated that Sarna was, in fact, on her phone, speaking to her family, at the time of the incident.



The Hindustan Times, quoting police officials, reported that Sarna, “suddenly started shouting at the auto driver about taking a wrong route. Later, her mobile got switched off. Her family immediately informed police.”

A First Information Report has been lodged, and a search operation has been underway for the last 24 hours. However, Sarna remains untraced at the time of filing this report.

“The victim is yet to be traced but her last location was found at Morti village near Raj Nagar Extension as per the electronic surveillance. We have scanned the spot and some tyre marks were also found. We have found some people who saw the auto. We are investigating further with the help of several teams and it seems to be a case of abduction,” said Salman Taj, superintendent of police (city).

Snapdeal Co-founder and Chief Executive Kunal Bahl said that the online retailer was working with the police to trace Sarna.

Deeply disturbed by news of our @Snapdeal team member getting abducted yest. We are working closely w/ authorities to secure her safety.

— Kunal Bahl (@1kunalbahl) February 11, 2016

“We are extremely disturbed with the reported abduction of our team member. Her security and safety is our topmost priority. We are doing everything to support and work with the authorities in their investigation,” a Snapdeal spokesperson said.

The company has also asked people with relevant information, relating to Sarna’s abduction or her whereabouts, to come forward. Anyone with information can call Ravi Tyagi at +91 98188 99784, or email the company at finddipti@snapdeal.com.