MUMBAI: South African national of Indian origin Devikiamma Pillay, who was reported missing for 20 days, resurfaced on Thursday and blamed her broken down cellphone for not being able to communicate with her children. Pillay, 76, was in Mumbai for a vacation and had boarded the Bhubaneswar Express on the night of February 23. But her cellphone was unreachable and she did not reach her destination in Odisha which prompted her
south Africa based daughter to fear the worst. Pillay's UK-based son flew down to Odisha to hunt for her even as the elderly woman returned to Mumbai, having toured two other states and clueless of her family's efforts to get in touch with her.
"Pillay had stayed at a Colaba based guest house from February 21 to 23. Her daughter touched base with the guest house's manager and urged him to lodge a missing complaint with us on March 2. We tracked her last cellphone location to Gondia in Maharashtra. We also found a co-passenger who had overheard her mentioning that she was to visit an ailing friend in a Bhubaneswar hospital," said inspector Mahesh Balwantrao of Kurla GRP.
It turns out that Pillay's cellphone broke down but she couldnt get it repaired as she was travelling. "She reached Bhubaneswar as per schedule but couldn't locate the hospital as she had an incorrect address. She stayed in a guest house at Bhubaneswar for three days as she tried to locate the hospital. Eventually, she took a train and went to Howrah in Bengal. She stayed there for five days before moving to Varanasi. She stayed at the holy city for a longer period," said a police officer. All this while, her family prepared flyers, appealing to people for help, and newspapers in south Africa reported her disappearance.
Pillay took a train out of Varanasi and reached Mumbai early on Thursday. As she walked back into the Colaba guest house, where she has stayed frequently during previous visits to India, the staff couldn't believe their eyes. TOI had reported about her disappearance in its Wednesday's edition and the guest house staff had been praying for her return. They immediately informed the Kurla GRP. "Pillay told us that she was safe and sound and the communication gap had created confusion. We have informed her son that she is in Mumbai so he can come here from Odisha," said Balwantrao.
Pillay has two children and four grandchildren. She had moved to Johannesburg with her daughter,
Mala, 20 years ago. She had been travelling away from south Africa since November last year and was supposed to visit friends in India. Her family had also sought assistance from the south African consulate in Mumbai.
