An Indian expat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made a desperate plea to the community to help find his wife who has been missing for the last 65 days from their home here.
Rohini Perera, who is mentally unstable and mother of five children, ran away from her house near Al Kuwaiti Hospital on June 9 and has not been seen since, her husband Madhusudhanan, 63, told the Khaleej Times.
"I am sure she is alive somewhere. I don't want to believe that we have hit a dead end. I am hitting the road every day and combing the streets for hours hoping to find my wife," said Madhusudhanan, who is from Kerala.
The family had filed a police complaint to find 58-year-old Perera, who is Sri Lankan, but the husband said there has been no breakthrough in the search.
Madhusudhanan said his wife was taking medication for mental illness. She wasn't wearing footwear when she went missing and left her mobile phone at home, according to the report.
The family, including their five children, was living without valid documents in the UAE earlier and their plight was reported by the daily.
Help poured in during the last amnesty declared by the UAE and the family legalized their status. But the husband said all the media attention took a toll on Perera and she started to show symptoms of mental illness.
"She was not eating properly and she was also getting violent when we forced her to eat. She kept saying that she is a burden on us and want to leave," said Madhusudhanan.
The family used to lock her up in a room after she showed suicidal tendencies, according to the husband.
"The Sharjah Police have been doing everything possible to find her. After reports in the media about her case, I have got a few calls from people giving some leads. But in the end, it all drew a blank.
"It is Eid holidays and everyone is out travelling. I am sure she is somewhere in the UAE. My children are going through a trauma as there is no news about their mother. After almost 30 years of uncertainty, we had just started living in peace when this mishap happened," added Madhusudhanan.