Need Help With Next Steps Regarding False FIR
Edit - Friend is almost 30, mom is 60-ish. Both of them are listed as "victims" in the FIR.
Context: My friend has lived in his sister's house in Kerala with their mother (and occasionally brother-in-law, who lives in the Middle East most of the time) for the last 8 years or so. Both the sister and the BIL are mentally/emotionally abusive towards the friend and the mom. My friend finally had enough of it late last night, packed all of his and mom's things, wrote a detailed letter explaining that they are leaving because of abuse, took a photo of it on his phone, and left for Bangalore via an overnight bus. My friend also turned his phone off to avoid being harassed by his sister.
Current Situation: Friend and mom left in the morning, and by evening, his sister had registered a missing persons FIR (for both of them) under Section 57. She clearly hid the fact from the police that there was a letter explaining the reason for leaving in a very visible place, so technically, it's a false FIR. He knows the first course of action is to hire a lawyer, and he is going to do that first thing in the morning after getting to Bangalore. Based on a basic Google search, it should be possible to hire a lawyer in Kerala remotely and have them represent oneself in court. My friend does not want to return to his neighbourhood for obvious reasons (further abuse and harassment).
Question (mainly for peace of mind) - In general, what should be the sequence of steps? Does anyone know an estimate when it comes to hiring a lawyer remotely for something like this? Can he sue his sister back for the harassment via the false FIR?