Kerala student goes missing after losing ₹50K in share market

“He was investing in stocks even before coming to Mumbai, but the amounts he invested were small. But a week ago, he told his mother that he had faced a loss of around ₹50,000 in the stocks. His mother told him that it is okay and he should stop stock investments and just focus on his studies as the family is there to support him financially,” his father, Ashraf Moideen, told HT

Navi Mumbai: A 22-year-old student from Kerala, who came to the city to pursue his dreams of completing management studies, has gone missing since Saturday evening after he told his family that he had suffered losses of ₹50,000 in the share market, police officials said on Monday.

The officer added that they will now look at the CCTV footage of railway stations and also meet the agency in Andheri to understand the kind of dealing he was having with them. “The boy had switched off the phone right in his building itself before he left,” he said. (HT PHOTO)

Fasil PA got admitted to a college of his choice in Churchgate to pursue management studies and came to Mumbai in August last year. He was staying in a paying guest (PG) accommodation at Colaba.

“He was investing in stocks even before coming to Mumbai, but the amounts he invested were small. But a week ago, he told his mother that he had faced a loss of around ₹50,000 in the stocks. His mother told him that it is okay and he should stop stock investments and just focus on his studies as the family is there to support him financially,” his father, Ashraf Moideen, told HT.

On Saturday evening, Fasil last spoke to his family around 6pm and he told them he was going out with his friends and that he would call them later. However, since then, his phone has been switched off.

“We contacted the place where he stayed and they said that he had not returned home after he left the building on Saturday evening. His friends too had no idea where he was,” the father added.

On Sunday night, Moideen and his brother reached Mumbai and on Monday morning, they went to the police to register a missing complaint.

“ After checking the CCTV footage, we found that he had left the PG alone at 6.35pm with a backpack and a shoulder bag,” an officer from Colaba police station said. “Further scrutiny of Fasil’s bank account revealed that he had borrowed around ₹1 lakh from various cousins and relatives, which he had not disclosed to his parents and the money was further transferred to an Andheri-based stock market.”

The officer added that they will now look at the CCTV footage of railway stations and also meet the agency in Andheri to understand the kind of dealing he was having with them. “The boy had switched off the phone right in his building itself before he left,” he said.

Fasil was acquainted with the city and the language and shared a good relation with a few of his friends, Moideen said. “I don’t know what was the problem that he was facing that he could not share with us. Whatever it is, we are always here to support him, and I want him to come back to us safely as soon as possible,” he said.

“The boy seems to have taken personal loans up to ₹1 lakh, and there are chances that he was upset about paying them back. Further investigations are on,” senior police inspector Vijay Hatiskar from Colaba police station said.