Letter claiming whereabouts of Kerala's missing boy Rahul sparks hope after 17 years

Alappuzha: One of the most sensational unsolved mysteries in Kerala is the story of Rahul Raju, a seven-year-old boy who went missing from a playground near his home in Alappuzha in 2005.

Although the Central Bureau of Investigation submitted its closure report to the Kerala High Court in 2012 after hitting one dead end after another, the truth behind his disappearance remains unknown.

However, a letter claiming his whereabouts has now once again sparked hope for his mother Mini.

As per a report by The News Minute, Mini got a letter claiming that they had seen a boy who looked similar to Rahul. A few recent photos of the boy were also included in the letter which mentioned that the boy was currently staying in Nedumbassery in Ernakulam district.

Soon after receiving the letter, Mini lodged a complaint with the Alappuzha police chief seeking a detailed probe.

Mini who spoke to Media told that the woman who sent the letter is in Mumbai and she claims that she has seen the boy in Mumbai. She also said that the boy in the photo looks similar to Rahul.

However, the boy in the photographs sent from Mumbai who has also spoken to the media several times in the past has told that he believes this to be a case of mistaken identity.

According to him, he has no recollection of his parents and was brought up by his aunt till he was in Class 8. He had also said that his aunt while admitting him to school, had told them that she had found the boy during the devastating tsunami that had hit the coastline of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in 2004.

The boy also recalled staying in the Pathanapuram Gandhi Bhavan orphanage at a younger age. The boy came into focus after a policeman from Kerala posted his pictures on social media about his resemblance to the missing boy Rahul, two years ago.

On May 18, 2005, seven-year-old Rahul went missing near his house in Alappuzha triggering a huge search, but no trace could ever be found of him.

The father who was employed in Kuwait with a private firm immediately abandoned his job and returned the next day to search for his son.

Rahul's father AR Raju, fought for 17 years trying to find his son and he died by suicide at the age of 55 on May 22, 2022.

The case was probed by the state police, the crime branch, and three CBI teams for years, but in vain.

The Crime branch which took up the investigation handed over the case to the CBI in June 2005. It was in February 2012, that the CBI submitted its closure report on the case. Though the central agency tried to close the case in 2009, the investigation continued for three more years, after the Court declined to accept the closure report. But they couldn't make any progress in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Mini still believes that her son is alive and might return home one day.