Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544245
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 APRIL 2026 NEWS Indian community angered by apparent police delay in missing person case THE Indian community in Mal- ta is livid with what they claim is the police's mishandling of a missing person case involving a young Indian student. Vishav, 18, was last seen by his friends in St Julian's. He had just had dinner with another Indian man living in the same apartment building. The pair, and other residents meet dai- ly over meals, as it is common practice for them to split the cost of food and eat together. Vishav arrived in Malta just weeks prior to his disappear- ance, after having paid some €9,000 in tuition and agent fees to study in Malta. After having dinner, Vishav didn't return the next day for breakfast and was nowhere to be seen afterwards. He wasn't picking up phone calls and it was later discovered that his mobile phone charger and lug- gage were still in his room. His friends appealed for help. They filed a missing person report at the St Julian's police station on 20 March, spread the word with the local Indian community, and hoped for the best. But their hope turned sour when they noticed that police had failed to inform the pub- lic about Vishav, as is regular practice in such cases. In fact, the police only issued a public missing person notice seven days after they received the re- port. The Indian community was even more hurt when they saw Maltese people flood social media with a barrage of hateful comments, seemingly welcom- ing the news that an Indian na- tional was reported missing. The young man's disappear- ance prompted his cousin, Sunny, who works and lives in Portugal, to leave everything behind in order to find Vishav. Speaking to MaltaToday, Sunny said that he had last spo- ken to Vishav on 18 March, as had Vishav's father. They said he sounded normal, and only spoke about subjects they usu- ally speak about. Sunny is pleading with the public to come forward with any information about Vishav's whereabouts. Meanwhile, the police insist- ed that once a missing person report was filed, "investigations and searches commenced im- mediately and remain ongo- ing." A police spokesperson ex- plained that checks with all relevant entities were made within the first hours following the report, adding that the po- lice also inspected places where Vishav frequented, but to no avail. The police did not respond to questions on the seven-day delay between the filing of the report and the public notifica- tion. "The missing person's family, also through the Indian High Commission in Malta, are be- ing kept informed," the spokes- person added. Anyone with information on Vishav's whereabouts is urged to contact the police at the nearest police station or by calling police headquarters at 21224001 or 119. MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Vishav