Dubai: Mystery shrouds the death of a 40-year-old Indian chef whose body was found near Zabeel Park two days after he went missing on his first visit to Dubai.

Pio Cardoza, a chef with a restaurant at a mall in Mobor, Cavellossim in the Indian state of Goa, was sent to Dubai by his employers for a training course in Japanese cuisine on August 9. He was put up at a staff accommodation of the mall's branch in Jumeirah 3.

On August 12, Cardoza stepped out of the Jumeirah mall to buy cigarettes from a nearby grocery. He never came back. "That was the last he was seen. We thought he had gone to visit his brother-in-law who lives in Dubai. But when we didn't hear from him for two days, we got worried and contacted the police," his colleague told XPRESS on condition of anonymity.

Cardoza's body was found near Zabeel Park on August 14. According to his colleague the autopsy said he died of heart failure caused by respiratory problems.

But the family suspects foul play. "Cardoza called his wife on August 11. He sounded frightened. Surely there's something more to this than meets the eye," Cardoza's brother-in-law Joseph told XPRESS over the phone from Goa on Wednesday evening. "It's still a mystery what he was doing near the park," he said.

Bad dream

Eerily, Cardoza's wife Sunita had a premonition that her husband was in trouble in Dubai. "My sister dreamt Cardoza was imprisoned in a warehouse and was crying out for help. She got so worried that she called Cardoza's colleagues in Dubai to check on him," said Joseph.

Cardoza's colleague confirmed receiving the call. "Yes, she did call me. We had still not found Cardoza, but we assured her that he would be all right. How would we know about the tragic turn of events?"

On August 12, Sunita filed a missing person complaint at Goa's Colva Police Station.

"She filed an application with us saying Cardoza was missing. But since the case does not come under our jurisdiction, we forwarded the application to the Crime Branch (in India)," an official at the Colva Police Station in South Goa told XPRESS.

Not happy with the cold response from Goa police, Sunita contacted her brother Joaquim Fernandes who works in the Sharjah Free Zone. On August 15, Fernandes lodged a missing person complaint with Dubai Police. The following day he was asked to come to the morgue and identify a body. It was Cardoza's.

A statement from the Indian Consulate in Dubai said, "The Consulate was approached for the repatriation of the mortal remains of Pio Cardozo and completion of death-related formalities. The Consulate is extending all possible assistance in the matter."

Cardoza's body will be sent to India on Friday evening.

Cardoza is survived by his mother, wife, two daughters, 13 and 11, and a son, 7.