Women reported drowned in Punjab may have fled to Mumbai
The two women, reported to have drowned in a Punjab canal while taking a selfie, have allegedly fled to Mumbai with unidentified persons. The women had visited the canal with another sister of theirs who returned home after a few hours, claiming that the duo has drowned. However, she later revealed that they fled to Mumbai for a "lavish life".
Police in Punjab?s Gurdaspur district are searching for two women who allegedly left town last week after asking their sister to report that they drowned in a local canal while taking a selfie.On Friday morning, 16-year-old Sophia Masih accompanied her 21-year-old sister Lovepreet and 18-year-old cousin Nisha Masih to a local canal near their village of Sathiali.Hours later Sophia returned home and told the family that her sisters drowned while clicking a selfie.The family then informed local police who launched a search operation but could not trace the ?bodies? of the two women, even after stopping the flow of water into the canal. Army divers too failed.Under interrogation, Sophia then changed her statement and said the two women fled with unidentified persons in a car, for a ?lavish life? in Mumbai, police said.?We are working on various theories,? said BS Virk, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Gurdaspur. ?Sophia, the lone eyewitness, is changing her statements time and again. Teams have been sent to various cities and, hopefully, we will trace them within 24 hours.?No case has so far been registered. ?Once the girls are traced or their bodies recovered, a case will be registered,? he said.Deputy superintendent of police Prahlad Singh said six teams had been sent to various cities. ?We had asked the telecom company to give call details and location of the mobile number the women were carrying,? he added.Lovepreet is a BA student at the local SM college in Kahnuwan. Nisha passed Class 12 this year. Lovepreet and Sophia?s father, Balwinder Masih, is a travel agent and also runs a grocery shop in the village. He refused to comment.