The team comprises 27 farmers and the principal secretary of the Agriculture Department of Kerala, B Ashok.
Published Feb 19, 2023 | 9:37 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 19, 2023 | 1:56 PM
Kannur farmer Biju Kurian, part of a delegation to Israel, has gone missing. (Representational image/iStock)
A 48-year-old native of Iritty in Kerala’s northern Kannur district, who was part of a team of farmers from the state sent to Israel to learn advanced farming practices, has been reported missing since the night of 17 February.
A concerted effort to locate Biju Kurian, the missing farmer, is currently underway, according to information from Kerala’s Agricultural Department, which organised the visit.
Kurian was part of a 27-member team of farmers sent as part of an official delegation to Israel by the state government.
He is subsequently said to have contacted his wife on Sunday noon over the phone and said he was safe.
However, he told her that he would not return and no one could trace him. Then he disconnected the phone.
Other than farmers, Agriculture Department Principal Secretary B Ashok is also part of the team.
As per information available in Thiruvananthapuram, Kurian went missing from a hotel in Israel’s Herzliya city on 17 February.
Fellow delegation members informed the Agriculture Department that Kurian was with them when they were boarding a bus that was waiting to take them for dinner that had been arranged at a different hotel.
Kurian reportedly reached the boarding spot but failed to enter the bus. Team members say he was carrying a bag that also had his passport.
Immediately, the Indian Embassy was alerted, and efforts to trace Kurian began.
As requested by the embassy, Israeli police reached the spot soon and collected CCTV visuals from the whole locality. However, no information is as yet available about his whereabouts.
Officials said Kurian himself had paid for his travel expenses to Israel. However, his visa was issued based on a request from the state government. The visa is valid till 8 May.
Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad. (Supplied)
The high-profile study tour had courted controversy as it was being planned, with Opposition parties objecting to the huge expenses involved.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sought to scuttle the tour by citing a recent terror strike in Israel. But Agriculture Minister P Prasad and Agriculture Department Principal Secretary B Ashok remained adamant, saying the the tour would benefit Kerala as farmers would learn advanced farming techniques.
The government then told the farmers to meet their own travel expenses.
Because of its Opposition to Israel’s policies, the CPI, the second-largest constituent of the ruling LDF coalition, told Agriculture Minister Prasad, a party member, to stay away from the trip.
The delegation was subsequently led by Ashok.
