Biju Kurian
Thiruvananthapuram: Agriculture minister P Prasad on Wednesday informed that the state government has initiated procedures to cancel the visa of the Kannur farmer ‘absconding’ in Israel.
A 27-member team, led by senior Agriculture Department officials, went to Israel on February 12 for a five-day tour to understand new farming techniques from the country. However, Biju Kurian (48), a member of the delegation, reportedly went missing from the group on February 17 after which the team filed a complaint with the Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, Prasad reiterated that the person deliberately got separated from the group. His family members have not yet filed any complaint over his missing, he noted. “However, it is the state government’s responsibility to bring him back,” he said.
Indian Embassy in Israel has been intimated for cancelling Kurian's visa, said reports.
Despite Israel's law enforcement agencies' best efforts to trace him, the farmer's whereabouts were not known.
"We have registered a police case against him. He will be deported once we nab him," an Israeli official said.
The delegation left the country on Sunday without him. The other members who returned back to the state told the media that Kurian attended all the sessions diligently.
Some reports claimed that a day after he went missing in Israel, Kurian sent a Whatsapp message to his family saying that he was safe.
With PTI inputs
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