Music Director Missing After Air India Plane Crash; Phone Last Traced 700 Metres Away From Tragedy Site

New Delhi: Music director Mahesh Kalawadia, also known as Mahesh Jirawala, has reportedly gone missing after the Air India plane crash on June 12. According to a report by The Indian Express, the music director was neither on the flight nor in the hostel where it crashed. His family has been patiently looking for answers since the day of the crash, as his last known location was just 700 metres from the site.

As per the report, Mahesh’s last location before his phone switched off was nearly 700 metres from the BJ Medical College hostel that the Boeing Dreamliner crashed into.

The Indian Express also quoted his younger brother, Kartik (32), who said, “He spoke to his wife Hetal around 1:10 p.m. on Thursday and told her he had just finished a meeting near Law Garden. They shared a few jokes, and he said he was on his way to their Naroda residence.”

He further said that even after an hour, Mahesh did not return home and his phone remained switched off. His brother said that when the family heard about the crash—although it was not the usual route Mahesh would take home—there was still concern. “While we were anxious, I felt there was nothing to worry about, as the Meghani Nagar hostel where the incident took place would ideally not be a spot he would cross on his usual route,” Kartik said.

His family has now also submitted a DNA sample, fearing he may have been one of those who tragically lost their lives on the ground.

They also went to Civil Hospital to check the list of deceased, injured, and unclaimed persons, but the name of the music director was nowhere to be found.

“We were told all bodies were at the Civil Hospital. There too, we went through the list of the deceased, the injured, and the unclaimed persons, but my brother was nowhere to be found. For the past two nights, we have been going from hospital to police station to the accident site, but there has been no update,” he said.

It has been three days since the horrific crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, which killed at least 241 people on board and 29 on the ground. Hospital authorities confirmed on Sunday the identification of 47 victims through DNA matching.

Authorities have handed over 24 bodies to the victims' families.