KOCHI: A decomposed body, suspected to be of missing Bengaluru native Suraj Lama, is awaiting DNA confirmation.
Regardless of what the test reveals, one fact is indisputable: a staggering series of lapses — from immigration desks to hospital corridors — allowed a mentally vulnerable man to vanish in Kochi, with each agency shifting the blame.
From the moment Suraj was deported from Kuwait on October 4, official negligence followed him at every step. Immigration authorities let him walk out of Kochi airport alone. Airport staff failed to notify police despite his visibly impaired condition.
The Thrikkakara police admitted him to Kalamassery Medical College, only for him to disappear within minutes. And hospital authorities, instead of raising an alarm, first registered him under a wrong name and then failed to alert police when he went missing.
Suraj, 59, who ran a restaurant in Al Salmiya, was a victim of Kuwait’s methanol poisoning tragedy. As his memory deteriorated, he was moved to a deportation centre. Despite having a valid passport and being a Bengaluru resident, he was flown to Kochi, without any intimation to his family.
“He had a valid passport but was sent on a temporary travel document. And instead of Bengaluru, he was routed to Kochi. None of this was communicated,” said a source from an expatriate support group in Kuwait.
The family learnt of his deportation only because an acquaintance sent them a photo of his ticket.
The most glaring lapse occurred on October 8. After residents found Suraj disoriented in Thrikkakara and alerted the police, he was taken to the Kalamassery MCH in an ambulance accompanied by a paramedical volunteer. What happened next is at the heart of the controversy.
“After he was admitted, he went missing while under the hospital’s custody,” said the Thrikkakara SHO. The officer blamed the MCH for failing to inform the cops soon, despite having a police aid post on the premises.
Hospital authorities refused a direct response. “The matter is before the High Court. We will present our statement there,” said superintendent Ganesh Mohan.
For Suraj’s son, Santon Lama, the unanswered questions have only multiplied. “How did my father clear immigration alone? Why did airport staff let him walk out unattended? Why did the Kuwaiti authorities not inform us? Why was he registered as an ‘unknown person’ at the hospital?” he asked.
The story so far
Oct 4: Suraj deported from Kuwait on Jazeera Airways
Oct 5: Arrives in Kochi; last seen by a metro feeder bus driver
Oct 7: Family files missing complaint
Oct 8: Found by residents; admitted to Kalamassery medical college by police; goes missing
Oct 10: CCTV footage shows him walking in HMT area
Oct 21: Son Santon files habeas corpus plea in HC
Oct 25: HC orders formation of SIT
Nov 30: Decomposed body suspected to be of Suraj found in Kalamassery forest area