A missing farmer from Kerala has not been found in Israel

A missing farmer from Kerala has not been found in Israel.

The farmer who went missing on February 17 while on an official trip to Israel with a group from Kerala is still avoiding both Israeli and Kerala police. Israeli officials have reportedly filed a lawsuit against Biju Kurian, who was there on a trip paid for by the government of Kerala to learn about modern farming techniques like hydroponics and precision farming.

Despite efforts by Israel’s law enforcement agencies to track him down, Kurian’s whereabouts remain unknown. ‘We have filed a police report against him. He will be deported once we catch him,’ an Israeli official was reported as saying. B Ashok, Kerala’s Senior Secretary for Agriculture, led the 27-member delegation that left Kerala on February 11.

Also Read | Why Kerala farmers abandoning rubber in favour of rambutan, dragon fruit?

After telling the Indian embassy and Israeli police about the missing person, the crew went back to Kerala. Kurian’s family in Kannur doesn’t seem to know either what happened to him or why he went missing.

Visa revocation

According to P Prasad, Kerala’s Agricultural Minister, the Kerala government has begun the process of cancelling Kurian’s visa. The visa had been obtained through the State government. When asked if the incident would have an impact on future farmer abroad trips, Prasad said no. The State Agriculture Department’s trip to Israel was the first in a series of international travels.

The minister stated that the State government has taken attempts to locate the missing farmer and that there was no thought of cancelling the farmer tour programme because of an individual act. Overall, the tour to Israel was beneficial to farmers, and the State government intends a three-pronged strategy to harvest the trip’s learnings for the Kerala farm sector, he said.