INDORE: After three months of searching, police in Mumbai have managed to find a man who had eloped with his lover after telling his wife and family that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. According to police, the man in question had eloped with his lover to Indore in June, when most of the coronavirus restrictions were still in place.
On June 24, Manish Mishra, a supervisor employed with a clearing agent at JNPT in Navi Mumbai, called his wife and told her that he had tested COVID-19 positive. He also told her that he would not survive and then switched off his phone. Mishra did not return home, and his worried family members filed a missing persons complaint the next day at the nearby police station.
Soon after, a team of police began their efforts to locate the missing man. Investigations revealed that before he switched off his phone, his last known location was Vashi. A police team was sent to the spot, where the police got his motorcycle and key, his backpack that he carried to work, and his helmet.
To ensure it wasn't a suicide case, they even checked the Vashi creek with the help of local fishermen, but could not find his body. "We were certain that he was alive and so we kept looking," an officer said. The investigators then started scanning CCTV footage and forwarded Mishra's pictures to police departments of other states in India.
Police got the first lead via a CCTV footage in Airoli, where the missing person could be seen travelling in a car with a woman. They later learnt that Mishra was staying in Indore.
Police learnt that he was in an extramarital affair and was staying in Indore with his girlfriend, following which a team was sent which brought him back to Navi Mumbai, an officer said,