Thane: Family still hoping to find father who vanished without a trace in 2018

Kunhi Krishnan Nair with his family

When Kunhi Krishnan Nair, 77, left his Thane West home on April 30, 2018, at 3 pm to go to his daughter Dr Sini Panicker's in-laws' home, a familiar 10-minute walking route that he took, Nair's wife Sushila was not worried. Yet, after he did not return for three hours, anxiety turned to alarm and by nightfall, it was panic.

Disappearance

Dr Sini Panicker, who is a Muscat-based anaesthesiologist, said, "It has been three-and-a-half years since my always-smiling father simply ‘vanished'. My brother Sudeesh Nair is a chartered accountant (CA) who lives in Toronto, Canada. We were overseas, and my parents lived at Hiranandani Estate in Thane. My father took voluntary retirement from the Indian Air Force in 1979, after which he worked as a security officer at the Tata Cancer Hospital, Parel, for years. He was leading a retired life, battling some health problems like diabetes. He also had short-term memory loss. His mental health did deteriorate to some degree over the years, and we used to restrict his mobility when it came to going out of the house for this very reason. He would disobey at times, and leave the house despite my mother telling him not to do so. He had a wallet with his name, telephone numbers and address inside. He did not carry a mobile phone."

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Recall

On that day in April 2018 though, his wife was not too worried when her husband who was 74 then, announced he was going to that home, as this was a route he knew, and it was very close to his own house. It was only when he did not return that panic set in. Dr Panicker stated, "That was a Monday I think when my father left home and never came back. In fact, I was to fly to Mumbai from Muscat just five days after and because of his worsening mental health condition, was going to admit him into a facility. Through visits and calls, I was fully apprised about my father's mental state and did have an intuition this is soon going to lead to a major problem. I was so right," she stated ruefully. "After he disappeared, my mother filed a missing complaint within 24 hours at the Kasarwadavli police station."
The doc flew down from Muscat and the search began. Her brother too flew in from Canada. The CCTV surveillance showed he had entered the building but exited via the next gate. He has disappeared without a trace since.

Search

"We scanned footage, filed police complaints, put advertisements in newspapers. We searched parks, buildings in the vicinity, hospitals, homes, mortuaries, simply everywhere. We went to Kerala, as my father loved Kerala and would often visit the Guruvayoor temple there. We went to the North and Gujarat, too, to look for him, but in vain," said the anaesthesiologist.

Dr Panicker who is in Thane after two years said, "My once-dynamic mother has slipped into depression. She was in Thane for a while after my dad went missing but I took her with me to Muscat as I knew she, too, could not be left alone as her mental health has been hugely affected." The doc added, "I got leave after two years, and came down to India with my mother to restart the search. I visited the police station again recently. There was no news, but I took heart from accounts of the officers who told me I should not lose hope, ‘missing' people have been found after four years, too."

Awareness

The doctor finished with a message about creating more awareness and amenities to deal with mental health problems. "We need activated Global Positioning System (GPS) chips that people with Alzheimer's, dementia can wear, which tells you where they are. We need a special department within police stations for these specific problems. When one visits the police station, one realises there are so many such cases, where relatives are looking desperately for missing, loved ones," stressed the doctor. She added that her family still dreams ‘That the doorbell will ring, and my father will be at the doorstep, just like that."

If you think you have information about Kunhi Krishnan Nair call Dr Sini Panicker on 7045189139.