Palakkad: It was only after repeated attempts to contact them over the phone went unanswered for two days that the relatives of Babu Bhaskaran, a native of Palakkad, reached out to neighbours. They were told that Babu had informed them he, his wife and their son were leaving to attend a relative's wedding. However, when the relatives checked with other family members, they found that no such wedding had been planned, raising concerns over the family's whereabouts.

The incident happened on July 9. Babu Bhaskaran (68), his wife Ramadevi (66), and their younger son Vishnu Babu (34), residents of Panayoor in Vaniyamkulam, Palakkad, left their house at around 4 am in one of their pick-up vans. Before leaving, they had told neighbours they would be attending a relative's wedding and visiting a few other family members, and would return only after about 10 days. As they had informed the neighbours in advance, no one initially suspected anything unusual.

"It was only after their relatives said none of them could be reached over the phone that everyone started to panic," said Satheesan, an autorickshaw driver who knew the family. "We alerted the Shoranur police, who later told us that the last mobile tower location of all three phones was at Panayoor itself. However, CCTV footage from nearby houses showed the family leaving home early on July 9 in one of their pick-up vans," he said.

Babu and Vishnu jointly ran a jaggery and salt distribution business and owned two pick-up vans. "The other vehicle is still parked at their house. They regularly travelled to Mysuru to procure jaggery, but Ramadevi would usually stay back. This time, all three left together," Satheesan added.

Based on a complaint by the relatives, the Shoranur police registered a missing person case under Section 57 of the Kerala Police Act and launched an investigation. However, there has been no breakthrough so far.

"They have lived here for nearly 15 years and frequently visit relatives in Kottayam and Ernakulam. This time, they never reached any of those places, and all their phones remain switched off. Some suspect financial difficulties, but nothing has been confirmed," said Vaniyamkulam grama panchayat member Nirmala.

She said the couple had also been worried because repeated attempts to arrange Vishnu's marriage had not been successful. The family has an elder son who works in the UAE and is settled with his wife's family in Thrissur. "He visits only occasionally, while Babu and Vishnu managed the family business together," she added.

Residents described the family as warm and helpful. "They were always approachable and ready to help others," Satheesan said. "However, it's difficult to believe they would disappear without informing anyone," he added.