Missing solo rider found with lover in Mumbai

Kozhikode, Dec 28: Police have solved two person-missing cases a month after a 34-year-old Palazhi resident disappeared while on a solo ride to Shivamogga in Karnataka.

Sandeep S was found with his girlfriend — a resident of Thondayad, who had also been missing — at a friend’s place in Mumbai on Wednesday, police said on Thursday.

Investigators said the man, married with a child, scripted the drama to be with his lover, and thus mislead his family and friends.

Sandeep had been missing since November 25, and Karnataka police had found his motorbike on the banks of the Tunga River near Hariharapura of Koppa taluk in Chikkamagaluru two days later. Signs of a scuffle, which investigators now said the man himself had created, was also found near the bike.

Sandeep’s wife lodged a man-missing complaint with Nallalam police on November 26 after the family had lost contact with him. A team from Kozhikode traced the man and his lover, Ashwini, after tracking their phone location and ATM transactions, police said.

Sandeep and the woman, taken into custody from Mumbai, were in a relationship ever since they worked together for a few months.

Sandeep, a frequent rider, was working as a marketing manager with a private firm. He used to conduct group and solo rides, and had informed his family members and friends that he was leaving for a solo ride before he went missing. A case was register at Chikkamagaluru also.

Two weeks later, the woman, too, left her home, and the Medical College police were probing a missing complaint her family had lodged on December 10.

Karnataka police said Sandeep, after abandoning his bike, left for Mumbai via Mangaluru, and stayed in a paying guest accommodation until the woman’s arrival. Police said the team of investigators would reach Kozhikode on Friday with the lovers, and would be produced before a court.