A Kerala man has gone missing from his residence in Kottayam, just hours after his favourite football team Argentina lost to Croatia in the World Cup.
30-year-old Dinu Alex is a diehard fan of Lionel Messi and an ardent football fan. Dinu, who works at a private company as an accountant, has left behind a suicide note in which he wrote that he has nothing to look forward to.
A team of police divers and locals on Friday searched the Meenachil river that flows by Arumannoor, behind Dinu's house.
Speaking to TNM, Ayarkunnam Sub-Inspector said that a police dog who was brought to the house went straight to the river, raising suspicion that Dinu may have jumped into the river.
According to the police, Dinu watched the football match late into the night. When his mother woke up after 5 am, she was unable to find Dinu in the house.
"She used to wake him up at 5 am every day. Today, she did not find him in his room, but found a note which said nobody was responsible for his death," the police said.
Even as circumstances indicate that Dinu was dejected at the team losing the match and left home, the police said that they are looking into all possible angles.
A close relative of Alex told IANS that he was a hardcore Messi fan and his mobile phone had a picture of Messi as the wallpaper.
"Yesterday, he purchased a T shirt like the one worn by Messi and sat down to watch the match," he said.
The police, along with the fire and rescue team from Kottayam searched in the river during the day. They have for now called off the search in the river.
"The river is flowing in full spate because of heavy rains. Divers looked for his body, but were not able to locate it," the police said.
(With inputs from IANS)