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KOTTAYAM: The body of the die-hard fan of Argentina football player Lionel Messi was fished out from a river here on Sunday morning.

Dinu Alex, 30, had gone missing from his residence at Arumanoor upon the River Meenachil on Friday. He was last seen watching the World Cup match between Messi-led Argentina and Croatia, which the South American nation lost 0-3. Ever since that the Police and Fire and Rescue Units had launched a search operation.

According to Police, the body was fished out from the river at Illikkal around 8.30am. Body will be handed over to the relatives after autopsy.

A handwritten note left in Dinu's bedroom made the police suspect that he might have taken some drastic step. The sniffer dog ran through the house’s backyard to the Meenachil prompting police to call in divers to search the waters "Nothing is left for me to see in this world. I am leaving... Nobody is responsible for my death," the note, written in Malayalam , read.

According to Joice Joseph Kottathil, a relative of the youth, Dinu was an introvert and had very few friends. He, however, followed all major league football matches and was crazy about Messi.

In one of his books he had written: "Messi, my life is for you, waiting to see you lift the cup." In another place, he wrote, "My team is staring its journey, carrying my life. I will do it".

Dinu, an accountant with a private firm in Kottayam , had told his colleagues on Thursday that Argentina would ride to a win on Messi's goals. He had bought a jersey of Argentina on the way back home.

He watched TV along with his parents till they went to sleep by 11.30pm. Though some of his friends called him after the match, his mobile was switched off. His mother Chinnamma, who got up around 4.30am, noticed the light on in Dinu's room and checked. On finding him missing, she woke Dinu’s father Alexander, who noticed the note, and alerted the Ayarkunnam police.

The Argentina jersey and Danu’s mobile phone cover having a picture of Messy were found in his room.

