FPJ Exclusive: 56 Days After Missing Teen’s Plea Ignored, Search Efforts Intensify

The last email Potnis sent on June 20 revealed his intention to end his life and detailed his mental struggles, including pornography addiction, which he stated was disturbing his mental and intellectual balance.

A 17-year-old boy, suffering from depression, went missing for 56 days from Panvel railway station on July 3 after making a final call to his mother. A resident of Bandra East, Samar Potnis, who had just completed his Class XII exams, told her he would board a direct train to Goregaon at 6.40pm. Shortly after, his phone was switched off, and he disappeared. Subsequently, the Kherwadi police registered a kidnapping case against an unknown person and the case was transferred to the Panvel police for further investigation.

Potnis had been struggling with severe mental health issues and had reached out for help multiple times before his disappearance. From January to June, he sent around 15 emails to the ‘Art of Living Organization,’ seeking assistance for his mental health and requesting to speak with Gurudev Ravi Shankar.

Despite his desperate pleas, the organisation reportedly failed to respond to any of his emails. Potnis, a former devotee of the organisation, was mentally unwell for over two years and expressed his severe depression and suicidal thoughts in his communications.

The last email Potnis sent on June 20 revealed his intention to end his life and detailed his mental struggles, including pornography addiction, which he stated was disturbing his mental and intellectual balance. He requested guidance from Gurudev Ravi Shankar, hoping his message would be received and acted upon.

In response to his disappearance, Panvel police, with the help of Envitech Marine Consultant Pvt Ltd, successfully traced the mobile data of Potnis and submitted the technical data related to the case to the High Court and Panvel police. Potnis was last seen on CCTV footage boarding a train at Panvel station. His phone was later traced to the Vashi bridge, where it was found switched off.

The search for Potnis is underway, with the police alerting all railway stations, GRP police, Mumbai police, Pune CID, and NCRB Delhi to assist in locating him. Despite the extensive search efforts, Potnis remains missing, and authorities are seeking assistance from all relevant agencies to find him.