Kerala man, presumed dead, found alive in Goa

The man identified as Deepak, 36, a resident of Meppayur, Kozhikode was reported missing on July 7, 2022, from his home and was untraceable for months

A man from Kozhikode (Calicut) in Kerala, who was missing for eight months and presumed dead, was found alive and well in Goa on Wednesday, police said.

Police said that he was working at the Bogmalo beach in Goa for a while (Representative Photo)

The man identified as Deepak, 36, a resident of Meppayur, Kozhikode, was reported missing on July 7, 2022, from his home and was untraceable for months.

Police said that Deepak was working at the Bogmalo beach in Goa for a while before he checked into the hotel in Margao, where he was found.

According to the Kerala police crime branch officers, who reached Goa to bring Deepak home, his family misidentified a body found at Kerela’s Koyilandy beach ten days after his disappearance to be that of their son and performed the last rites.

“He was thought to be dead. His family also identified a body that was found and performed the last rites but a DNA test proved that the body was not of Deepak,” a police officer accompanying Deepak said.

Tulshidas Naik, police inspector, Margao in South Goa, said, “During a routine checking of the guest records, we found him (Deepak) at the Vishranti Lodge. He checked in yesterday. The crime branch forwarded to us the missing report and details.”

In brief comments to the media, Deepak, who has experience working in the hotel industry, claimed he had no idea that his family performed the last rites on a body thinking that to be him.

“I didn’t have a phone on me so I couldn’t call them,” Deepak said when asked why he hadn’t contacted his family.

He told the police that over the last seven months, he travelled to several places across the country, including Punjab, Shimla, Delhi, Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, and others.