A newly printed photograph of Thomas John, a 42-year-old farmer, hangs on the wall of Pazhamchirayil House, a small concrete residence in Kavumkudi near Alcode in Kannur district.
Simi, his wife and their three children are still unable to recover from their sudden loss. She has still not recovered from the grief of losing her husband. Thoughts about his spouse, who went missing in November last year and was found dead near a river, still haunt him.
“We contacted the local police station within hours of confirming his disappearance. Since he had been struggling with loan repayments in the past weeks, we were worried when he went missing,” recalls Simi, who complains that the police refused to consider her complaint seriously. “Had the police acted immediately, he would have been with us now,” she says.
Simi complains that the police delayed the search on the grounds that they could not track the location of her mobile phone. “They said the search could be started only after waiting for at least 24 hours. Due to their indifference, we searched with the cooperation of the residents. Sadly, we found him dead the same day,” she says tearfully.
The latest police figures confirm that the state is witnessing an increase in the number of cases related to missing persons in the last five years. Official data shows that 8,742 missing persons cases were registered in 2020. This will increase to 9,713 in 2021 and 11,259 in 2022. Next year, in 2024, it will become 11,760 and 11,897.
A senior police officer from the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) in Kerala claims, “Despite the large number of missing persons, Kerala has a relatively high success rate in locating them. Timely reporting of cases and proactive approach of the police is making a difference.”
Uneven trends in the number of missing cases become evident in district-level data compiled by the State Crime Records Bureau. In rural areas of Thiruvananthapuram district, an increase in the number of missing cases has been observed over the years. The total number of cases which was 630 in 2022 almost doubled and reached 1,177 in 2023. But there was a slight decline in 2024.
Rural areas of Ernakulam district also saw an increase from 508 in 2020 to 892 in 2023. Later, the number decreased slightly to 648 in 2024. In Idukki, police registered more than 1,000 missing cases in 2023. In northern Kerala, districts like Kannur (rural) and Kasaragod saw comparatively lower figures, police sources say.
missing children
Cases of missing children also remain a matter of concern for law enforcement agencies.
According to Crime Records Bureau data, more than 10,000 children have gone missing in Kerala in the last five years, although most of the children were traced. Police and family members have no clue about more than 500 missing children, who have been missing since their disappearance. Police officials say family disputes, relationship and financial issues and the influence of social media are contributing factors to his disappearance.
Retired police officer S., who had worked with the AHTU squad. “Late reporting of incidents, lack of integrated real-time databases and jurisdictional constraints often hamper investigations in the early stages,” says Muraleedharan.
He pointed out that with the increasing number of missing persons cases, there is a need for prompt registration of complaints, better data-sharing mechanisms, coordination between the government and law enforcement agencies and greater public awareness.
Police officers from regional crime squads believe that late reporting is one of the most significant hurdles in investigating missing persons. In many cases, families are advised to wait for some time before filing a complaint, especially when an adult goes missing. Investigators believe this practice could delay the investigation.
“Investigation during the first few hours after a person goes missing is often crucial in gathering digital evidence, tracing their movements and identifying potential witnesses,” says S Ranjith, a police officer in the High Tech Crime Investigation Cell. They say the delay could result in the loss of mobile phone data, surveillance footage and other time-sensitive information that is vital to the investigation.
A large number of missing persons cases in Kerala involve teenagers and young adults. Data from districts like Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram show that people in the age group of 16 to 25 years account for a major share of the reported missing cases.
“Many of these cases ultimately become examples of absconding, voluntary departure or temporary separation from families,” says a senior woman police inspector involved in investigating some of such cases in Kozhikode. She observes that cyber interactions, exposure to unknown networks and hasty decision-making often lead to family conflicts, which in turn provoke youth to leave home.
A former member of the Child Welfare Committee says, “Girls constitute the majority of reported missing cases. Many girls leave their homes due to failed personal relationships or family disputes. They are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, trafficking or other forms of abuse.” She says that there is a need to seriously look into the incidents of children going missing from various government-controlled shelter homes.
A former coordinator of a helpline for children. Neerish says there is a need to focus on the factors that lead to the disappearance of people, especially children. He suggests that there should be programs for long-term protection, counseling and rehabilitation of such persons.
Rights activists also believe that criminal elements may be involved in at least some cases of disappearances of persons. K., a native of Wayanad who is temporarily living in Kozhikode city. Hemachandran’s missing case is one such case.
Hemachandran, who ran a private chit fund in the city, had gone missing in August 2023. After 16 months, the police succeeded in solving the mystery of the businessman’s disappearance. The police came to know that he had been murdered and his body was buried.
“Hemachandran was kidnapped and murdered following some financial disputes. His body was recovered from a forest area in Cherambadi, Tamil Nadu, where he was buried,” says a senior police officer who was part of the investigation team.
Hemachandran’s family members say that leaked telephone conversations of one of his kidnappers helped crack the case. However, he says a focused investigation will help solve the case.
In contrast, there are several high-profile cases that still remain mysterious. No clue has been found yet regarding the disappearance of Mohammed Attur alias Mami, a prominent realtor from Kozhikode in 2023. Initially, even a two-year long investigation by the local police and later by the Crime Branch could not solve this mystery. Despite extensive questioning of around 200 persons associated with Mami and other investigations, no breakthrough has been achieved.
Aunt’s friend P. Rajeevan suspects that she has been kidnapped. He accused the police of failing to pursue the case promptly.
drug connection
Substance abuse incidents have also been found to have contributed to the increasing number of missing cases. After a five-year long investigation into the disappearance of 35-year-old Vigil from Elathur, the police were able to establish it as a case of death due to drug overdose. His friends reportedly buried him to hide the incident instead of reporting it to the police.
Police officials believe drug-related deaths are an under-recognized factor in missing persons cases. They point out that this often involves concealment due to fear and misinformation.
An IT expert from the police cyber cell says, “When missing persons move from one place to another, their tracking becomes difficult due to lack of coordination between agencies located at different locations. The absence of an integrated real-time missing persons tracking system often results in fragmented information being generated.” He also points out that shortage of hands, heavy workload and increasing number of cyber crimes limit the operational capacity of the police force.
Meanwhile, professional counselors, who often deal with the rehabilitation of missing persons, believe there should be a change in the approach to handling persons. According to him, the police often look into the procedural aspects of the case first when they receive a complaint, instead of understanding the concerns of the complainant and the need for prompt intervention. Fast-track investigation should be ensured with all supporting agencies to trace the missing person. He believes that active intervention is often required to help victims reintegrate back into society.
Psychologists A Dhanya and PV Jinsi say interventions should be made to remove procedural and technical barriers to locating and rehabilitating missing persons.
