Kerala: Dead' man missing after giving obituary ad

KANNUR: Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of a man who published his obituary in the newspapers here and vanished without the knowledge of his family members. The obituary of Joseph Melukkunnel, 74, native of Kuttikol near Iritty, Kannur, and son of the late   M.C. Mathew and Thresiamma, appeared in the Kannur edition of all major vernacular dailies on Thursday. The advertisement given through an  agency contains a detailed history of his past and his family. It said that the last rites of the dead would be performed at St Sebastian’s church, Thiruvananthapuram.

The obit page of all dailies also gave space to announce his  death.  “Mr Joseph was undergoing treatment for cancer at Regional Cancer Centre and the death was caused due to cardiac arrest,” it said. The truth came to light when the surprised kith and kin of the man alerted the newspaper offices. Mr Joseph,  who was staying in  the Bombay Hotel at Payyannur, vacated the room on Thursday morning, according to the hotel staff.  

Though Joseph had given his mobile number to the advertisement agency, it is not functioning now, said the Taliparamba police who are trying to trace him. Adv Shaju Joseph, son of Joseph, submitted a complaint to the police regarding his disappearance. According to the complaint, Mr Joseph had gone to attend the marriage of a cousin at Kottayam on Tuesday. He had also intimated some of the relatives on visiting Thiruvananthapuram for a treatment.  Taliparamba DySP K.V. Venugopalan is heading the investigation.