Iconic Assam composer Ramen Barua goes missing, last seen on Brahmaputra riverbank | Guwahati News

GUWAHATI: Octogenarian Assamese composer Ramen Barua, revered as a living legend by generations who have grown up on his music, remained untraceable for the second consecutive day since being reported missing after stepping out of his Guwahati home on Monday morning to visit a nearby temple.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma asked Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah to deploy all possible resources to trace the 84-year-old, whose daughter Barnika Barua filed a missing diary at Latasil police station when he didn’t return home until evening.
Barua, a resident of Guwahati’s Latasil neighbourhood, was seen in CCTV footage walking through a lane near Gauhati high court that leads to the Brahmaputra riverbank. Based on the footage, police and teams of NDRF and SDRF personnel are scouring the area since Tuesday morning.
“He was last seen approaching the river with a plastic bag in his hand. His last phone tower location was near the high court building,” the city police chief said.
Barua’s oeuvre includes music for several landmark Assamese films, including Dr Bezbarua, Mukuta, Lalita and Kokadeuta Nati Aru Hati, in which CM Sarma played a cameo as a child artiste.
He comes from a famous family of 13 siblings, all of whom had successful careers in films, music, politics, sports and business.
Barnika told TOI that before leaving for the temple, a short walk from the Baruas’ home, her father had a “disagreement” with her over his insistence on going grocery shopping. “I stopped him because of the hot weather. After that, he went to the temple and hasn’t returned since. I tried his phone around 12pm and found it switched off,” she said.
“Deuta (father) is the president of the temple managing committee. Every morning, between 10 and 10.30, he visits the temple and returns by noon.”