Body of Messi fan who jumped in river recovered

: Two days after he jumped into a river apparently upset over Argentina’s defeat in a league match in the football World Cup, the body of Lionel Messi fan Dinu Alex (30) was fished out from the bulging Meenchal river by police and fire personnel on Sunday.

A search was on for Alex for the last two days and the Kottayam district administration was planning to approach the navy.

An accountant with a private firm Alex, upset with the Argentina’s defeat left his residence on Friday morning leaving a note. Initially, his family members suspected a prank, but later his slippers were found on the banks of nearby river, triggering fear of him having taken the extreme step. A sniffer dog used for search had led the police to the river.

“We will hand over the body to relatives after the post-mortem. It seems to be a case of suicide,” said a senior police officer.

“We got suspicious after we recovered a letter from his room. We initially thought it was a prank. Later, we found his slippers on the banks of the river,” said his father PV Alexander.

His friends also said he was sure that Argentina would clock an impressive win against Croatia and storm into the pre-quarterfinals. However, after the team lost 0-3, he reportedly cried and switched off his phone. He then disappeared from the house early on Friday.

“Nothing is left for me to see in this world. I am leaving. My soccer god has let me down. Nobody is responsible for my death,” he scribbled on a note.

Police are on their toes in soccer-crazy north Kerala as matches are progressing. Several areas observed a near-shutdown on Friday after Argentina’s loss. Police had to intervene after a group of Brazil fans celebrated Argentina’s loss on Thursday.