Kochi (Kerala): A case has been lodged in Israel against a farmer from Kerala's Kannur district who went missing in the country earlier this month, officials said. They further revealed that the missing farmer identified as Biju Kurian (48), a resident of the Ulikkal panchayat area of the district went to Israel as part of a 28-member delegation of the Kerala government to observe state-of-the-art agricultural techniques including precision farming and hydroponics on February 12.
Kurien, according to the news agency PTI went missing on February 17 and despite the best efforts of the law enforcement agencies in Israel his whereabouts are yet to be known. " We have lodged a case against him. We will deport him after he is traced," said an official.
Kurien's family members said that he went missing from the hotel they resided in Herzliya on Friday following which the delegation lodged a complaint with the local police. They also said that in the meantime Kurian sent a voice note to his wife saying that he is safe and asking her not to look for him as he is no longer interested in returning to India. They also said that currently, they are clueless about the whereabouts of Kurien.
According to official sources, the delegation led by Principal Secretary B. Ashok went to Israel on February 11 and returned to Kochi without Kurien on Monday. According to members of the delegation, Kurien went missing when they went for dinner on February 12 and could not be contacted as his phone was switched off.
" He (Kurien) was waiting for the bus to leave for the hotel to eat. But he did not board the bus. Soon after he went missing," said a member of the delegation. Kerala Agriculture Department accepted applications from farmers under 50 years of age with more than 10 years of farming experience and who has over one acre of agricultural land. From the applications, authorities selected 20 farmers to visit Israel.
