Kasargod: Three Years On, Pradeep's Parents Still Wait for his Return

Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod (NM)

Kasargod, Oct 2: Three years is quite a long period to wait for a loved one. And when the person happens to be a son, the agony for the parents can be unimaginable.

Nagesh Chettiyaar and Chandravati, parents of Kasargod based young Pradeep Raj have left no stone unturned to trace their missing son in an unknown land.

Pradeep Raj (28), is a resident of Kodlu Parekatte, Ayyappa Bajana Lane, Kasargod.
 
On receiving visa from Spain to work in a ship, Pradeep Raj left his house on October 13, 2008, and took a flight from Mumbai to Spain on October 22. He joined the vessel MT Eltanin owned by the Singapore-based company Sibamar Shipping as an oiler the same month.
 
Till April 24, 2009 Pradeep was in regular touch with his parents, but that was the last day he contacted his people in India, reports stated.
 
On April 30, the officers of Marlow Navigation, the company that recruited him, sent a telegram to his parents informing that Pradeep had gone missing while sailing from Panama to China over the Pacific Ocean.

On May 2, 2009 Pradeep's parents recieved another letter from the officers that the US Coast Guards had searched for their son but in vain. Hence, the ship continued on its voyage to China.
 
When the parents contacted the officers in return, they were not ready to give satisfying answers.

"We have sent appeals to the central ministers, chief minister of Kerala, opposition leaders and other authorities concerned, but nothing has worked so far and we have got no response from anyone," say the parents.

"An action committee has been set up to put pressure on the authorities to intensify the search operations, and it is our only hope," said Pradeep's father Nagesh Chettiyaar.

Following Pradeep Raj's mysterious disappearance, two others hailing from Karnataka resigned from the shipping company and returned to India, he said.