Aizawl: A senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from Jharkhand, posted in Mizoram, has been reported missing, and the state police are conducing a search for him, official sources said on Wednesday.The sources identified the officer as Shankar Chaudhary, officer on special duty (OSD) at the police headquarters in Aizawl. “Chaudhary had taken leave for over 105 days since April till July 15 this year and the state police department does not know his whereabouts and an inquiry is being conducted,” a police officer said. The officer added that an order had already been issued to post him as deputy inspector general of police (training), but he had not joined his new posting.The IPS officer was posted in Mizoram on July 25, 2023, and was given his present posting as OSD on Oct 28 last year after Delhi Police slapped criminal cases against him. Despite being allocated the post of DIG (training), he has reportedly not joined the post till date due to his prolonged absence, a senior state police officer said on condition of anonymity.Chaudhary was earlier accused by Delhi Police of abducting a foreign national while serving as superintendent of police (narcotics).The matter relates to alleged police operations conducted between Nov 21 and 29, 2023, when Chaudhary was posted as SP (narcotics), Mizoram, and supervised raids conducted by Mizoram Police in Delhi.According to the prosecution’s submissions before the Delhi High Court during the hearing of Chaudhary’s anticipatory bail plea in early March this year, he was present in Delhi and led a team that allegedly conducted raids without lawful authority. The team also allegedly carried out searches and seizures without preparing mandatory documents, such as seizure memos or panchnamas, and detained several people without formally arresting them or producing them before a magistrate within the stipulated period.The court noted that CCTV footage allegedly showed Chaudhary entering the residence of a person identified as Harrison, a Nigerian national, in the early hours of Nov 26, 2023, and leaving nearly two hours later. The footage purportedly showed Harrison carrying a locker and two bags.Harrison was subsequently taken to Mizoram House in Vasant Vihar, where he remained from Nov 26 to 29. Delhi Police accused Chaudhary of illegal detention and extortion. The Delhi Police Vigilance unit alleged that the AGMUT-cadre IPS officer not only detained the foreign national in connection with an alleged drug-trafficking case but also extorted Rs 35 lakh from Harrison’s wife.The FIR was registered by Delhi Police on Feb 5, 2026.A senior Mizoram police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TOI that the department was still unable to trace the officer.Meanwhile, Mizoram chief electoral officer (CEO) Garima Gupta has also come under scrutiny. The IAS officer was appointed CEO on May 7 and joined the post on May 18. Officials said she had spent fewer than 10 days in Mizoram since then and had been on leave for most of the period. She has been under a transfer order since early July, but the Election Commission of India is yet to appoint a new CEO for Mizoram, even as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is under way.
