Missing Vic man's friends fear foul play

Friends of a Melbourne man who went missing while working his delivery route fear he may have met with foul play.

Shiva Chauhan, 27, was last heard from via text message around 11.30pm (AEST) on Thursday.

On Friday morning, it was discovered his deliveries had not been made.

His van was found on Huttong Road in Keysborough in Melbourne's southeast around 3pm on Friday with his belongings, including his wallet, still inside.

A friend of Mr Chauhan identified only as Andy told the Nine Network he feared he had been "taken".

"We personally do believe there was some sort of foul play involved," Andy said.

"All of his personal belongings were left in the car.

"We sort of think that someone's stopped and taken him."

Another friend, Jap, described Mr Chauhan as caring.

"He loves his family too much just to do something," he said.

"He's always on the phone. There's no way he would have actually switched off his phone for three days now."

Police have released a photo of Mr Chauhan, who is described as Indian, 177cm tall, with a slim build and dark-coloured straight hair.

They are urging anyone who may know his whereabouts to contact them.