Mumbai: NRI woman goes missing after boarding train for Bhubaneswar
An NRI woman recently went missing after she boarded a long distance train from the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in suburban Kurla, said a senior GRP official. The woman, Devikiamma Pillai, is a 76-year-old South African national of Indian origin. She had apparently come to India on a vacation last month. She stayed at a guest house in south Mumbai's Colaba area on 21 February.
Her last mobile phone location traced to Gondia, Maharashtra
On 23 February, the woman boarded a train for Bhubaneswar from the LTT, but she did not reach there, as per her daughter, and has been missing since then, the Government Railway Police (GRP) official said. Also, her last mobile phone location was traced to Gondia in Maharashtra. Since then, her phone has been unreachable, the official added.
Daughter requested guest house manager to approach police
The matter came to light on 1 March when Pillai's daughter, who was unable to contact her, called up the guest house from South Africa and enquired about her. After she heard that her mother had left the guest house, she told the guest house manager that her mother was unreachable and also requested him to approach the local police, the official said.
Pillai used to come to India every year: Police
The manager lodged a missing person's complaint with the GRP in Kurla on 2 March. "During the investigation, we traced Pillai's train co-passenger, to whom she had apparently told that she was going to meet a friend in Bhubaneswar," GRP's senior inspector Mahesh Balvant Rao said. "Pillai used to come to India every year and stay at the same guest house," he added.
Guest house's owner being inquired: Police
"We are enquiring from the guest house's owner about her belongings, the purpose of visit and also trying to get some more information which may help us in finding her," said Inspector Rao. Based on the information, the CCTV footage of some railway stations was being scanned, and a special team was formed to investigate the matter and trace the woman, he added.
