Australian Man Goes Missing In Punjab During India Trip, Police Probe Possible Kidnapping

A 66-year-old Australian citizen and high school teacher from Melbourne has gone missing in Punjab under mysterious circumstances, prompting fears of abduction and a widening police investigation. According to a report by ABC News, Sunil Sharma was last heard from on May 22 while visiting Amritsar to prepare an investment property for sale ahead of his retirement. Sharma, a math teacher at Diamond Valley College, had travelled to Punjab to supervise renovation and paintwork at his property in Ashiana Estate on Fatehgarh Churian Road.

According to his daughter, Surbhi Sharma, the family had been in regular contact with him during the trip. He spoke with his children on May 21 and again on the morning of May 22. By the next day, his mobile phone had been switched off.

"I got a call Saturday morning [from my brother] saying, 'Have you spoken to Dad? And I said, 'No, I've not heard from him since yesterday morning,' she said. 

The family became alarmed after both Sharma and the car he was driving from Mohali to Amritsar disappeared without a trace. Friends who later checked the property found the gates locked and no sign of him or his vehicle.

Surbhi Sharma said local authorities were also trying to locate her father's brother, who was reportedly last seen at the property on Friday before he too became unreachable. Police are additionally seeking to question a prospective buyer who had allegedly visited the property around the same time.

"My dad's brother … I believe is also someone the police are searching for at the moment because my dad's brother was last seen in the house on Friday," his daughter added. 

Investigation Status

• Acting on a complaint filed by one of Sharma's friends, the Amritsar Rural Police registered a kidnapping and abduction case and launched an investigation. Police officials said all angles, including possible abduction, are being examined, with investigators focusing on both family and business connections.
• The family has received assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Embassy in India. Interpol has also reportedly been alerted about the disappearance.
• His children, Surbhi Sharma and her brother, have decided not to travel to India at this stage due to safety concerns, while pleading with federal agencies to prioritise the investigation. "If there is something to do with... kidnapping or extortion or something like that, they said it's not uncommon for family members also to be taken in," she said.
• A spokesperson for Victoria's Department of Education said officials were hoping for Sharma's safe return.