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Indian-origin man’s body found after a massive 20-day search in UK
The man went missing on November 10 when he left his home. He was last seen walking along Leicester’s Belgrave Road, the hub of Asian culture and business.
Police divers have recovered the body of an Indian-origin man in the east Midlands city of Leicester following a major 20-day search for him involving Labour MP Keith Vaz and a large number of people, when his disappearance was described as out of character.
Paresh Patel, 48, went missing on November 10, when he left his home. He was last seen walking along Leicester’s Belgrave Road, the hub of Asian culture and business. Hundreds of people have since tried to retrace his steps and locate him.
The Leicestershire police said: “The body of a man was found by police divers in the canal within Abbey Park, Leicester…The man has been formally identified as 48-year-old Paresh who was last seen on the evening of Saturday 10 November when he left his home address”.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious…Officers would like to thank everyone who shared our appeals to help find Paresh and assisted with our enquiries”.
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Patel’s family praised the efforts of people involved in trying to find him.
In a statement to ‘Leicester Mercury’,a leading local daily, Patel’s brother Nitin said: “Tonight, it is with the heaviest of hearts that we inform you that our son, husband, father, brother, nephew, cousin and friend, Paresh, has been taken from us”.
“We wanted to thank you all with everything that we have, for every single moment of your time that you gave to us, to help us find Paz.”
Patel’s wife Kalpana had put out an emotional video asking him to return home: “Everyone is so worried about you, our boys have been asking about you, trying to text you and ring you. Your mum has constantly been crying, I don’t know what to tell her to make her feel better.”
His two sons Kiyan, 12, and Harshal, 9, led a walk retracing the steps of their father while carrying a banner with ‘Come Home Daddy!’ written on it.
Leicester has a large community of Indian origin, many of whose members settled there after they were expelled from Idi Amin’s Uganda in the early 1970s. The community has since rejuvenated local economy and culture. The city is often cited as a symbol of Britain’s multiculturalism.
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