Body of missing Indian man found in Dubai

Sreedharan Devakumar was reported missing in April

Residents wear protective face masks in the Deira district of Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

The body of a man who went missing three months ago was found in the sea near a hotel in Dubai.

On Friday, police said Sreedharan Devakumar, a 54-year-old Indian man, was reported missing by friends on April 28.

He was working for a car rental company and had been due to fly home to Kerala to see his family. His flight was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

At the time, police were able to track some of his movements before he disappeared using CCTV.

Last month, police were called to a five-star hotel in Deira where a man's body had washed ashore.

The body was identified as Devakumar, based on the clothes he was last seen wearing. A key to his home and a necklace were also found on Devakumar and helped identify him.

Police used the key to unlock the door to Devakumar's flat in Deira, where forensic experts collected samples from his tooth brush for a DNA test that acted as the final confirmation. This wallet and mobile phone had been left in his flat.
Colleagues of the deceased also confirmed that the necklace found on the body belonged to Devakumar.

The cause of death was not released by police but they said there was no criminal activity involved.

Devakumar's body has now been returned to his wife and two children, who are understood to live in the south Indian state.