PALAKKAD: Sixty-four days have passed since 31-year-old Vishnu, a resident of Thachampara, walked out of a lodge in Kodaikanal and vanished without a trace. Time, however, has stood still for his 60-year-old mother Kunjamma as she waits through days of anguish and nights of uncertainty for her son’s return.
She waited for him to return for Onam. He never came.
Kunjamma is now left with nothing but unanswered questions. “He went to Kodaikanal with just two pairs of clothes and a bag. I just hope that somewhere, somehow, Vishnu is alive and safe,” she told TNIE.
Vishnu, unmarried and a painting worker from a Scheduled Caste community, went missing in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, on June 30 early morning after travelling there with a group of five other friends from his village.
“I last saw him around 5.30am on June 30. But I slept again and when I woke up after two hours, he was nowhere to be found. Vishnu left the room without informing anyone. When he did not return, we searched for an entire day and later lodged a missing-person complaint with the Kodaikanal police,” said Tino Jacob, Vishnu’s childhood friend who was part of the Kodaikanal trip.
For the next 11 days, his friends searched for Vishnu in various places of Kodaikanal, Dindigul and Theni. “Many local residents and shopkeepers identified Vishnu when we saw his photo. He has travelled to places like Polur, Coakers Walk, Kilavarai, Kadavari, Theni, Nathampatti, Poondi, Kookal Lake, Vathalagundu and lastly in the Vattavada forest region.
The Kodaikanal police were cooperative during the first few days but when they realised that many people had seen Vishnu in various places, they stopped searching for him,” said Vishnu’s friends. Kunjamma said she has done everything she could to find her son. With not many relatives to rely on, she said she has been forced to depend almost entirely on the authorities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
“I don’t have many relatives. I am solely depending on the authorities here and in Tamil Nadu. I have met Keralam ministers, the district collector and other officers. I visited Tamil Nadu three times in search of him along with Tino. I am knocking on every door possible. But it seems nobody is interested in finding my son. A few politicians who had promised to find my son are not picking up my calls now,” she said.
‘Probe unsatisfactory’
Following Vishnu’s disappearance, people in Thachampara formed an action council to speed up the investigation. O Narayanankutty, former Thachampara panchayat president and convenor of the action council formed to find Vishnu, said that even after repeated requests, the Tamil Nadu police are not even considering checking the CCTV camera footage.
“We contacted the Chief Minister’s Office and a couple of ministers, but there has been no breakthrough. It is shocking that no authorities are serious about this missing case,” he added.
The family and action council also allege that the response from the Kalladikode police, where a complaint was subsequently filed, has not been satisfactory.
“We interrogated Vishnu’s friends a couple of days ago and are trying to track Vishnu’s mobile phone by the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. Vishnu’s phone has reportedly remained switched off, but those who identified him in various places have confirmed that he was carrying a phone with him,” an officer with the Kodaikanal police.