When Cops Took 'Spiritual' Path to Crack a Mystery

IT was around midnight on a quiet November night in 2024 when Shivani (name changed), a resident of Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu, heard her phone buzz with WhatsApp notifications.

- Abdul Nazer M A

IT was around midnight on a quiet November night in 2024 when Shivani (name changed), a resident of Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu, heard her phone buzz with WhatsApp notifications. Tired from a long day, she ignored it. The next morning, scrolling through her messages, one from her husband Ganesh jolted her.

It read, "I'm on a train to Palakkad. I'm having chest pain and might die. No one needs to search for me anymore."

Panicked, Shivani tried calling him, but his phone was switched off. So, she rushed to Pudukkottai police station. There, the police registered a missing case, but days passed without progress. Shivani kept visiting the station almost daily, only to grow disheartened. Finally, she turned to the Kerala police, since Ganesh had been working in Ernakulam.

She then filed a complaint with the Nedumbassery police station. The district missing persons tracing unit here, led by Ernakulam district crime branch DySP T M Varghese and including ASI T R Manoj and SCPO Sharath S Kumar, took charge. District police chief M Hemalatha monitored the investigation closely. The squad began by analysing Ganesh's call records.