A police team led by Sub Inspector Aneesh Vadakkedathu from Valayam station tracked down a 33-year-old man hailing from Chekkiad village in Kozhikode who was reportedly missing after his arrival at the Kannur International Airport from Qatar on June 15.
V.P. Rijesh, who was suspected to be a target of a gold smugglers’ gang in the wake of the latest abduction cases, appeared before Inspector A. Ajeesh on Monday on the instructions of a special investigation squad that managed to find his hideout in Bengaluru with the support of the Cyber Cell.
According to police sources, the youth who denied abduction attempt by anyone had gone into hiding as he was unable to pay off nearly ₹6 lakh to his creditors. He was leaving for Bengaluru after a two-week stay with a friend at Iritty in Kannur district, they said.
The police intensified search for him on a complaint filed by his brother on August 6. It was later found that the youth was in touch with some of his close family members over phone. Though his relatives refused to accept the finding of the police initially, the Cyber Cell exposed the “hide-and-seek game” with solid evidence.
The special squad grilled 15 persons, including relatives and friends of Rijesh. The case was registered under Section 57 (Police to attempt to locate missing persons) of the Kerala Police Act. It was also found that there were deliberate efforts on the part of some persons to cover up his secret stay in Bengaluru and mislead the police.
Rijesh was later produced before the Nadapuram Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I on completion of legal formalities and medical check-up. He was allowed to go home the same day as there were no criminal charges against him at any police stations till date, the police said.
On the progress of the investigation into the ongoing missing cases, District Police Chief (Kozhikode Rural) R. Karuppasamy said the investigation into the missing of Meppayur native Deepak was in progress under the leadership of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
