KOCHI: After nearly 40 days of relentless search for Suraj Lama — a Bengaluru resident who went missing in Kochi soon after being deported from Kuwait — across every corner of the city, from crowded streets to quiet bylanes and almost every shortcut in between, his son Santon finally returned to Bengaluru late on Saturday.
The junior Lama, known among friends and colleagues as Sunny, ended his final search along the inner routes of Aluva and Kalamassery on his rented bike, before quietly handing it back to its owners and leaving Kochi. Santon, though, is still holding on to a fragile hope of a call about his missing father.
“Something in my mind kept saying I should stay longer in Kochi, that my father was somewhere just within reach. But I had almost run out of money, and I needed to return to take care of my mother — the only person I have left in this world,” Santon told TNIE.
“As days went by with no progress from my search or the authorities, I told the police, my advocates, and the migrant worker friends who helped me that I am returning to Bengaluru. But I will remain just a phone call away because I still believe a positive call could come any moment,” he said.
He said, as the only son, he had to search for his father while also being mindful of his mother, who remains hopeful of Suraj’s return.
“I’m going through a phase that most people can’t even imagine,” said Santon, his voice heavy with anguish.
Expressing gratitude to his company and colleagues in Bengaluru, where he works as a marketing and SEO professional for Google Ads, Santon said, “I could continue my search only because of the incredible support from my team. They helped me in so many ways, and I can’t thank them enough. But I don’t want to burden them any further, so I’ve decided to rejoin the team this week.”
At the same time, he said none of the authorities concerned, including embassy and airport officials, gave a proper response regarding his father’s disappearance.
The 59-year-old Suraj Lama, who had spent nearly 30 years in Kuwait running a restaurant, had landed at the Kochi airport on October 5, reportedly deported due to memory loss caused by methanol poisoning. But he went missing on October 10 after the police had admitted him to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kalamassery.