Police officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru are searching for a 40-year-old man who went missing on Tuesday.
Richpal, who hails from Rajasthan, works at a tile factory at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. He entered the airport looking to board a flight to Jaipur after he sustained a fracture in his leg in an accident that he suffered while working.
After he was treated at a hospital, doctors advised him to go home and rest for a few months. Since he was not in a condition to travel by train, his friend, Mukesh Kumar Soni, booked him a flight ticket from Bengaluru. Richpal was brought in a wheelchair by Mukesh to KIA on Tuesday.
"I brought him to the airport on Tuesday and was with him until he checked in," says Mukesh. He returned to Chittoor believing that Richpal left for Jaipur.
A few days later, however, Richpal's family called Mukesh up, which is when he realised something had gone wrong.
Richpal had checked into the airport but never boarded the flight. Mukesh went back to the airport in search of answers and filed a complaint with the police officials at KIA on Saturday.
Police officials have launched a hunt for Richpal but say that they have made little headway in the search.
"The flight officials asked him to stay behind because he had consumed too much alcohol," says a police official at KIA.
"Richpal is last seen in a CCTV grab taken near the departure lounge. We have been analysing the footage but we have not yet been able to trace Richpal," adds the official.
Meanwhile, Mukesh believes that Richpal is somewhere in Bengaluru.
"Officials at the airport told that Richpal had left the airport premises at 1:30 am without guidance. We are prepared to search all of Bengaluru or anywhere. He is injured and needs help," he says.