Pune trader's Mumbai airport disappearance turns out to be a Malaysia trip called off
A 46-year-old Pune laundry businessman who vanished at Mumbai airport had cancelled a Malaysia trip after a woman friend was denied immigration clearance.
The sudden disappearance of a 46-year-old Pune laundry businessman from Mumbai international airport had caused panic. He had left home saying he was going to Malaysia on a business trip, but the story that emerged two days later was something else altogether.
According to police, the businessman left home on Monday night to travel to Kuala Lumpur, telling his family it was a business trip. Two friends dropped him at Mumbai airport. In reality, he had planned the trip to Malaysia with a woman friend. The two reached the airport, but the trip came to a halt during immigration.
Immigration officials found that the woman friend was holding an old passport, because of which she was not permitted to travel further. Police said that when the friend was denied permission to go to Malaysia, the businessman also cancelled his trip. The two then left the airport and headed towards CST railway station. During this time, the businessman switched off his mobile phone.
While still at the airport, he had called his wife from a landline and told her that his phone had been taken away because of an immigration issue. Later, at 3:35 pm, he made a WhatsApp video call to his wife and told her the problem would be resolved soon. After that, his phone went unreachable. His friends also tried to contact him but could not get through, which increased the family's worry.
With no word from her husband, the wife went to Sahar police station and filed a complaint suspecting abduction. Police began investigating his disappearance. Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, the businessman himself showed up at Sahar police station. He told police the entire sequence of events at the airport, saying that after the Malaysia trip was cancelled, he had gone towards CST with the woman friend and switched off his phone. The case, which had initially raised suspicion of abduction, took a different turn after the businessman returned on his own. Police are now investigating the entire sequence of events.
