Bhubaneswar, May 21: Amid the endless noise of speeding vehicles under the Khandagiri flyover, a grieving father sat silently on a road divider for three days, his eyes fixed towards the east with the hope of finding his missing son. Unmoved by the chaos around him, the elderly man waited in silence, carrying nothing but pain, faith and desperation.

The man was later identified as Sanyasi Sahu from the Jagannath Prasad area of Ganjam district. His son, Ambika Prasad Sahu alias Shubham, has been missing for the past eight months.

According to Sanyasi, Shubham had dreamt of becoming an engineer after passing Plus Two Science. Though financially weak, the father somehow arranged Rs 1 lakh and sent him to Bhubaneswar to pursue his studies. However, after arriving in the capital city, Shubham realised the amount was insufficient to continue a B.Tech course.

He later informed his father that he would earn money through tuition and small jobs. A few months later, Shubham moved to Bangalore for work. During his stay there, he reportedly fell into a debt of Rs 50,000. Somehow, he managed to escape from the situation and returned to Bhubaneswar.

Since October last year, Shubham has remained untraceable.

Sanyasi said he searched everywhere for his son and even lodged a complaint at the Jagannath Prasad police station. He also appealed to senior police officials, but claims no concrete action was taken.

In desperation, the distraught father later approached a spiritual baba for guidance. The baba reportedly told him that his son was somewhere in Bhubaneswar and advised him to sit facing east wherever he searched.

Since then, Sanyasi has been wandering across the city, spending his days sitting quietly facing east in different locations. At night, he takes shelter at the, clinging to the hope that one day he will finally reunite with his missing son.