Posters of the missing man in Kochi.
Credit: Special arrangement.
Thiruvananthapuram: The efforts of a youth from Bengaluru to trace his missing father in Kochi seems to be heading towards a tragic end as a body found in a decomposed condition in a marshy land is suspected to be that of his father.
The Kerala High Court, as well as the family of the Bengaluru native, have expressed strong resentment over the incident.
Suraj Lama, 59, who was deported from Kuwait to Kochi on October 5, went missing from the government medical college hospital at Kalamaserry in Kochi. He was suffering from memory loss. His son Santon Lama from Kothanur in Bengaluru was in Kochi for more than a month in search of his father. Later he approached the Kerala HC and the court directed the police to carry out a comprehensive search.
On Sunday, a decomposed body was found in a marshy land at Kalamaserry, close to the spot where Suraj was last spotted on October 8. A DNA test result is awaited to confirm the identity of the body.
Santon criticised that lapses of Kerala health system as well as the immigration authorities led to his father going missing. "How can the government medical college hospital let a patient leave despite the fact that he was suffering from memory loss and was taken to the hospital by the police? The immigration authorities also failed to realise my father's mental condition and allowed him to go out," said Santon, who works with a leading IT firm in Bengaluru.
Taking note of the fresh development, the Kerala HC also raised concerns over a body remaining unnoticed on a marshy land in the municipal area for more than a month. The HC also asked the police to furnish a detailed report on the incident, right from his arrival in Kochi to his discharge from a medical college hospital.
Suraj, who was into the restaurant business in Kuwait for more than 20 years, fell ill and suffered amnesia in September. As his visa expired he was deported to Kochi instead of Bengaluru on October 5. His family came to know about it by October 7 and Santon rushed to Kochi. The police took him to medical college hospital after he was found unwell on the street.
Suraj and his wife Rina have their family roots in Kolkata. They later settled in Bengaluru.