‘Missing’ software engineer from Hyderabad P Raghavendra Rao who was assumed to be missing by his family got back in touch with his family on Saturday, after the Ministry of External Affairs made efforts to trace him.
The 36-year-old, staying in the US, panicked after his ‘missing’ news went viral and called his family after a gap of eight months to inform them that he was safe.
Raghavendra had been avoiding getting in touch with his family after he lost his job three years ago and was in a severe financial crisis.
He told his parents that he was working with tech giant Microsoft earlier but then later moved to Intel. He said that he lost his job after he was charged with domestic violence against his live-in partner, with whom he has two kids.
It was during this time that his passport and visa also expired, according to his father P Bangaram.
Speaking to TNM, he said, “With the support of everyone, my son has contacted us. He had been avoiding us because of his personal problems. We are glad that he is safe. He is living with the same woman who had earlier charged him with domestic violence. They are happy now. Our family wants him to come back to India.”
However, returning to India may not be that easy for Raghavendra since his visa and passport had expired three years ago. He has somehow managed to evade arrest for not having a valid passport.
Making an appeal to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Bangaram said, “I want to thank madam Sushma Swaraj for her efforts to trace my son. My only appeal now is to get him (Raghavendra) back to India safely. The MEA should make some arrangement and bring him back to me.”
Three days ago, Bangaram along with his family members had approached the media and Minister of Information Technology KT Rama Rao saying that his son was missing after he didn’t contact them for several months.
Majlis Bachao Tehreek spokesperson, Ahmed Ullah Khan had helped Bangaram and his family to reach out to the MEA and KTR.
The worried family members concluded that he was missing after they had no way to contact him, his colleagues or anyone who knew his whereabouts.