'Heartbroken' Messi fan in Kerala missing, suicide note found
Kottayam (Kerala) June 22 : Unable to bear the thrashing Argentina received at the hands of Croatia late on Thursday, a diehard Lionel Messi fan here has gone missing, leaving behind a suicide note saying he has nothing to look forward to now. A search operation is on.
A team of police divers and locals on Friday searched the Meenachil river that flows by Arumannoor near here.
Binu Alex, 30, who was last seen watching the FIFA World Cup match, according to his parents, has been missing from the house since 4 a.m., a police officer, who did not want to be named, told IANS.
"A quick search revealed a suicide note in which he says he is leaving the world as he has nothing more to watch and see," said the officer.
A close relative of Alex told IANS that he was a hardcore Messi fan and his mobile phone had a picture of Messi as the wallpaper.
"Yesterday, he purchased a T shirt like the one worn by Messi and sat down to watch the match. In the morning when his mother got up at 4 a.m to prepare food for Alex, she saw that the back door of the kitchen was open and immediately called her husband.
"They then went to check on Alex and found that he was missing," said the relative, adding that police was called then.
Police arrived with a sniffer dog who ran towards the river which is flowing in full spate on account of the rains in the past few days. Some divers searched in the water but failed to find the body.
Alex was unmarried and works as an accountant in a private company here.
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Shivakumar assures contractors to solve their issues
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday assured the KSCA that he and Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi would facilitate a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resolve their issues.
Addressing members of the Karnataka State Contractors' Association (KSCA) who are protesting at Freedom Park in Bengaluru demanding the release of pending bills, Shivakumar said, "I and Jarkiholi will together arrange a meeting of contractors with the Chief Minister during this legislative session. We must all come together to find a solution to your problems."
He concurred with the contractors that they are also helping the state.
"We are aware that you brought our government to power. It is not our intention to withhold the payment. I have been watching your president Manjunath, who gives different sets of statements to the media once every three months.
"You should all get him a seat in the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council. Just as representation is given in the Council to teachers, graduates, and those from the cinema and arts sectors, a seat must be given to contractors as well. That could help resolve your problems. A way must be found for this," he said.
Shivakumar said there are pending bills of around Rs 13,000 crore in the water resource department and Bengaluru Municipal Corporation, while there are Rs 3,000 crore in the minor Irrigation department, totalling to Rs 16,000 crore.
"We know your pain. Six months before the elections, I had warned you not to take up any contract work in departments where there is no money. The then BJP Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai kept awarding contracts whether or not there were funds. You took up that work and now you are suffering. This needs to be resolved," the Deputy CM said.
He said there was a need to find bonds worth around Rs 50,000 crore. Only then will this problem be solved.
