'Please help us find Vishav': Cousin of missing student joins Malta search
Vishav, 18, has been missing since Wednesday last week
Updated 2.22pm with police statement
The cousin of a teenage student from India who went missing last week has arrived in Malta to help search for the young man.
Vishav, 18, who is a hospitality student at the La Vallette Institute in Ta’ Xbiex but is originally from Barara, in northern India, has not been seen since Wednesday last week.
On Friday the police issued a missing person’s statement, seven days after a police report was filed.
Sources told Times of Malta that an investigation was underway into the teenager’s disappearance.
The General Workers’ Union is also assisting in efforts to locate him, with its hospitality section secretary, Kevin Abela, saying the union was very concerned by the young man’s disappearance.
Speaking to Times of Malta after arriving on Thursday, Vishav’s cousin, Sukhbir Singh said the family was “very worried” about Vishav.
“I’m appealing to everyone in Malta to help me find him,” said Singh, adding he was in regular contact with the family in India, who he said were very distressed.
Vishav’s father has also appealed directly to Malta’s Indian community for help; in a video shared in community messaging app groups, seen by Times of Malta, he can be seen pleading for those in Malta to “please help us to find him. Everyone in our family is worried and stressed”.
Everyone in our family is worried and stressed
The missing student’s mobile phone appears to be off, and his social media accounts have not been updated since before his disappearance.
Singh described his cousin as a happy person who enjoys sports and going to the gym. He said that Vishav wears contact lenses due to one of his eyes naturally appearing a pale white colour because of an accident in his youth.
Vishav’s friend, Gurpreet Singh, who became friends with the teenager when he moved to Malta around two months ago, said he last saw the student at around 9.30pm on March 18, when the young man left his apartment after the pair shared an evening meal.
The student later made a call to his parents in India when, according to Vishav’s friends who have remained in contact with the family, he sounded “calm” and “normal”.
He is believed to have been wearing a white zip-up jumper at the time of his disappearance.
Indian community leader and GWU third-country national representative Manav Sanger has urged anyone with information to come forward: “Solidarity, awareness and cooperation are essential in situations like this.”
Anyone with information about the missing teenager should contact the police, even anonymously on telephone number 21 224001/119 or their nearest police station or Gurpreet Singh on 9996 1493.