'I'm going to Kashi': Kannur teen missing after confiscation of phone over gaming addiction concerns

Kannur: A multi-state search is underway for a 17-year-old Plus Two student from Panoor municipality after he left home, leaving behind a note saying he was going to Kashi to spend the rest of his life there. The missing boy, Shivasoorya A, is a student of Government Higher Secondary School, Chokli, and a resident of Puliyanambram in Peringathur. He has been missing since August 8.

According to his father, Jigeesh A (47), the family realised something was amiss on Saturday afternoon when Shivasoorya did not come downstairs for lunch. His younger sister went to check on him around 2.30 pm and found what appeared to be him sleeping under a blanket. When she pulled back the covers, she found only pillows underneath. The family found a handwritten note that read: "I am going to Kashi. I will spend the rest of my life there, merging with God."

Chokli Police have registered a case under Section 57 of the Kerala Police Act and launched a search for the boy.

Police are pursuing several leads, including information from a person in Pattambi who said he spotted the teenager on a bus travelling towards Palakkad. "Sometime after news channels carried my son's photograph, I received an Instagram message from a stranger who said he had seen someone resembling him in a bus heading to Palakkad from Pattambi," Jigeesh told Onmanorama. He could not take a photograph.

The information has been passed on to Chokli police, who have alerted their counterparts in Palakkad.

Jigeesh, a goldsmith by profession who now works as a salesperson in a jewellery shop, described Shivasoorya as a bright student who had scored A+ grades in all subjects in the Class 10 board examinations.

According to him, things began to change after he bought a mobile phone for his son midway through Class 11. "Initially, there were no issues. Later, he got hooked on playing games on the phone," Jigeesh said.

The family eventually found that the teenager had been borrowing money from friends and relatives to recharge gaming wallets. According to reports, the boy had spent around ₹50,000 on gaming-related transactions.

On August 2, after learning that his son had borrowed money for gaming, Jigeesh confiscated the phone. "I took his phone away to check if he had spent money on online games. He got angry and created a ruckus at home," the father recalled. For the next few days, however, Shivasoorya behaved normally.

Six days later, on Saturday, Shivasoorya left home. According to Jigeesh, the boy took ₹3,000 and a bag with clothes from the house. On his way out, he met a neighbour and spoke to him normally, giving no indication of his plan.

Neither CCTV cameras in the area nor family members have provided investigators with any clear clue about the route he took after leaving home. He also did not share his plans with his younger sister.

Shivasoorya's mother died of a sudden illness when he was five years old. Since then, he has been raised by his father with the support of his grandmother and his maternal grandparents, who live nearby. "He grew up surrounded by family," Jigeesh said.

Police have expanded the search beyond Kerala and are examining transport routes and other leads in an effort to trace the teenager's whereabouts.