HYDERABAD: A 21-year-old engineering student who went missing from Hyderabad was traced not through a missing person investigation or an unidentified body case, but after an Instagram reel posted by his family went viral.
Ankam Rahul, a native of Jagtial district and a BTech student at Maturi Venkata Subba Rao (MVSR) Engineering College in Saidabad, was reported missing on May 31. His body was later found in a well at Singarayakonda in Andhra Pradesh.
Rahul’s father, Ankam Rajeshwar, told TNIE that he received a call on May 30 from his son’s friend, Akash, informing him that Rahul had been missing since May 27. He rushed to Hyderabad and initially approached Saidabad police, who directed him to Kacheguda police as Rahul had last been seen there.
A missing case was registered on May 31. Police found that Rahul had boarded the Sabari Express from Kacheguda after reportedly telling a friend he was going out with other friends.
On June 4, a Singarayakonda resident who recognised Rahul from the video contacted the family and said a body had been found in an abandoned well.
Rajeshwar alleged that AP police told the family the body was recovered with a plastic rope tied to a heavy stone and had already been buried. DNA testing of Rahul’s mother later confirmed the deceased was her son.
He alleged Rahul had been threatened by a few students over a girl days before his death and suspected their involvement.
Seeking an independent probe, Rajeshwar has filed a writ petition in the Telangana High Court seeking a CBI investigation into his son’s death.