Memory Loss, Deportation, and Death: The Tragic Saga of an Expat in Kochi
The death of Suraj Lama, a 59-year-old expatriate from Bengaluru, in October last year has become a focal point for intense scrutiny of police and administrative failures in Kerala. Deported from Kuwait after consuming spurious liquor that caused severe memory loss, Lama was left to wander the streets of Kochi helplessly, ultimately meeting a tragic end. The Kerala High Court has described this case as a "tragedy of grave proportions", highlighting systemic cracks that led to his demise.
Who Was Suraj Lama?
Suraj Lama hailed from West Bengal but had resided in Bengaluru for nearly four decades. He managed a hotel business in Kuwait, while his wife Reena and son Santon remained in Bengaluru. In August last year, Lama was hospitalized in Kuwait due to consumption of spurious liquor, which can contain toxic substances like methanol leading to memory impairment. After a 45-day hospital stay, he was discharged with no recollection of his past, unbeknownst to his family back home.
The Deportation and Initial Disappearance
On October 4, the Kuwait government, enforcing strict anti-alcohol laws, deported Lama along with 12 others to India. Their flight landed in Kochi in the early hours of October 5. Despite his passport listing a Bengaluru address, no phone number was provided, and neither airline nor immigration authorities arranged for his onward journey. He passed through immigration without any evaluation or supervision.
While other deportees left the airport, Lama lingered inside, eventually boarding a feeder bus to Aluva metro station on October 5 evening. His family, alerted by a friend, filed a missing persons complaint at the Kochi airport police station on October 8.
Days of Wandering and Police Inaction
After alighting at Aluva, Lama wandered aimlessly through Kochi. CCTV footage captured him at various locations over subsequent days:
- October 6 evening: Spotted 7 km away at Kalamassery.
- October 7 morning: Seen wearing a different shirt, still wandering.
- October 8: Located 8 km away, appearing exhausted and distressed.
Local residents alerted police, who found him on October 10 begging for food and water in Thrikkakara. He was infested with insects and in poor health. Police sent him via ambulance to Government Medical College, Kalamassery, but failed to accompany him, a critical lapse.
Hospital Negligence and Further Disappearance
At the hospital, the ambulance nurse reported Lama as unconscious and weak, needing IV fluids. However, the on-duty doctor recorded him as "conscious and oriented" and discharged him around 9:30 PM. CCTV footage later showed him leaving the casualty area, and he was seen wandering in Kalamassery that night. This marked his disappearance from official custody, prompting his son Santon to file a habeas corpus petition in the High Court with legal aid from advocate Parvathy Menon.
High Court Intervention and Tragic Outcome
In the four months since Lama first went missing, the Kerala High Court has heard the matter 25 times and issued 18 interim orders, scrutinizing the roles of police and authorities. Nearly two months after his disappearance, a decomposed body was found near the medical college hospital, with DNA tests confirming it as Lama's.
On February 6, a Division Bench comprising Justices Devan Ramachandran and M B Snehalatha pulled up the Kochi Airport Police for procedural failures. The court stated, "Prima facie, had the protocols with respect to a missing person been fully followed, there is little doubt Lama would be alive today." It directed hospital authorities to release his remains to his family with honors, and Lama was cremated in Kochi on February 8.
The bench emphasized the dire situation, questioning why police did not connect Lama to the missing persons report filed earlier. This case underscores severe gaps in India's handling of vulnerable individuals, calling for urgent reforms in police and healthcare protocols to prevent such tragedies in the future.
