A family from Kattathi, Athirampuzha in Kottayam, is struggling for answers after learning that their 22-year-old son, Amal Roy, reportedly died by suicide in Germany.

They had received a cheerful video call from Amal on Sunday. "He also contacted his friends in Kerala the same day and spoke with them happily," his sister Ans told Onmanorama.

But on Monday, they received a frantic call asking them to pray for him. Then he went untraceable.
Amal had been living alone in Germany and, the family said, had limited friends there.

Amal, a first-year nursing student at a college in Ulm, went to Germany nine months ago with the help of two Malayali priests—one based in a European country and the other in Kozhikode. They also helped facilitate the travel of two women, one from Kannur and the other from Angamaly, along with Amal.

"Later on Monday, he reportedly contacted his family from a different number and told them his phone had crashed and that he was having a difficult time. He even asked his mother to pray for him," said Kattathi ward member Rajitha Harikumar. By evening, one of the priests contacted Roy and said Amal had gone missing.

The family reached out to a friend, Mathew, in Germany. Mathew’s family contacted local police, who initially said Amal was safe and that missing cases like this were not uncommon.

"However, at 12.10 am on Tuesday, we received another call from one of the priests. He told us “Amalu poyi” (“Amal is no more”)," said Amal's father Roy. “First, they told us that he had gone missing, then they said he had died. But we have received no official confirmation from German authorities,” said Roy. The family was later told that he had been found hanging inside his residence in Germany.

Ans said that despite efforts to contact the two women who had travelled with Amal, they avoided calls and refused to share any details. “Both priests refuse to give any clarification. We later heard that one of them also told others that Amal died due to family problems, which is completely untrue,” she added.

Ward member Rajitha confirmed that Amal had learned German with one of the priests' help. “What happened to him after Amal asked my mother to pray for him is unclear,” she said.

The family has since approached the Ettumanoor police station, seeking assistance. “We have limited authority unless German police share official details. We’ll monitor the process, but further action depends on their investigation. We don’t yet know if they are conducting a detailed investigation. If so, it could take time,” said SI Akhil David.

“We’ve contacted Malayali associations in Germany and local political representatives here for help,” Rajitha added. The family has since contacted Malayali associations in Germany to gather information. “We were told that police there would only disclose such matters directly to family members, not to others. So we are still trying to get official confirmation,” said a family member.

“I just want to know what happened to my son. No other parent should be left in such darkness,” said Roy.

The family has not yet disclosed the college's name or Amal’s exact location in Germany. Onmanorama also tried to verify the police jurisdiction but couldn’t ascertain it.