Farseen Gafoor, 28, a nursing assistant with the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune, has been missing since July 11 after he failed to reach Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, where he was scheduled to join a three-month training programme at the Military Hospital.
Farseen had spoken to his wife Zareena around 10.30 pm on Thursday while aboard the Mumbai Bandra–Ramnagar SF Express. He told her he was tired and planned to sleep. That was the last communication he made. He was expected to reach Bareilly early the next morning. When he didn’t call back and his phone remained switched off, the family grew anxious. Farseen got married last year. His wife Zareena, a dietitian at a private hospital in Muthuvattor, is five months pregnant. He had last visited home in February this year.
Originally from Guruvayur in Thrissur, Kerala, Farseen had joined the Army five years ago. He was recruited to the Army while he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at Sree Krishna College. An accomplished athlete, he specialised in triple jump and hurdles. “He didn’t complete his degree. His selection to the Army took him to postings in Lucknow, Pathankot, and most recently Pune,” said his younger brother Faris, a degree student in Guruvayoor.
The family initially assumed he might be busy, but after receiving no update by Saturday, they contacted his friends, who in turn enquired at the Bareilly military camp. That’s when they found that Farseen had never reached the destination. He had left Pune on July 9 and boarded the train from Mumbai on July 10.
With the help of Guruvayoor police, the family managed to trace the location history of Farseen’s mobile phone. “Records showed that he got off the train at Izzatnagar railway station, a few kilometres before Bareilly, around 4.30 am on Friday. The phone was later traced to East Nagar, 1.3 km from the station, before it went off,” said Faris.
“We learned that his ticket was confirmed only up to Izzatnagar. He might have planned to travel the remaining distance to Bareilly by road. But we don’t know for sure if he actually got off the train. The only thing we are certain of is that either he or at least his phone reached Izzatnagar,” Faris added.
The Guruvayoor police registered a case under Section 57 (missing) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011, and transferred it to Izzatnagar police.
Through a friend of Farseen in Uttar Pradesh, the family obtained CCTV footage from Izzatnagar railway station. “The video is grainy. We think we spotted someone who resembles him, but we can’t be certain,” Faris said.
He added that it was only after they reached out to friends in the Army that any formal communication was initiated from the military side. One of Farseen’s friends at the Pune Army camp, after the family contacted him, raised the alert, which eventually reached the Bareilly base.
According to Faris, Farseen had mentioned that about 60 personnel were sent for training, each to different camps. He wasn’t sure if all were pharmacists, but confirmed that Farseen was travelling alone to Bareilly.
Farseen’s elder brother Faheem, who works in Dubai, and a relative have travelled to Uttar Pradesh to coordinate with the local police. His father, Gafoor, works in Muscat. Back home in Guruvayoor, Farseen’s wife, mother Fousiaya, and brother Faris await updates with growing anxiety.