Translated fiction: Aniruddhan tells the police that Mudritha has disappeared. He has never met her

It was in April this year that a young man named Aniruddhan came to our police station and filed a complaint about a missing woman.

He did not intend to file an official written complaint, only to report that a person had gone missing. Little did he realise, until he talked to us, that the police did not simply accept such reports and let the informant walk away. The realisation made him anxious, and he tried to retract his statement. But someone, presumably, was missing, and now that we were aware of it, we had to investigate. He was connected to the incident, or to the person who had gone missing, so we could not just let him go. At the very least, we were obliged to investigate whether there really was a “Missing Persons” case, and for that, we would need his involvement.

So, obviously, he had to make a written complaint. We registered the case: Kerala Police Act 57 – Missing Person. And as with all such cases brought to our attention, we hoped that the missing woman would return soon and that the case would not expand to involve other sections of the Kerala Penal Code. As long as...

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