Police said both the girls have actually "concocted" the story of their drowning in the canal.
The two girls who were believed to have drowned in a canal in Punjab's Gurdaspur while taking selfies had concocted the story and have actually run away from their homes, police said on Satueday.
On Friday, the police had initiated rescue operations on after it was reported that Lovepreet Kaur (19) and Nisha (18) have drowned in the canal flowing under the Sathiali bridge located on the Gurdaspur-Sri Hargobindpur road.
17-year-old Sophia, sister of Lovepreet, spilled the beans during questioning by police, leaving security officials shocked.
Police raised a doubt after the bodies of the girls could not be retrieved from the canal where they were reportedly drowned yesterday while trying to retrieve the phone they were clicking selfies with.
"During questioning last night, Sophia told us that both Lovepreet Kaur and Nisha did not drown in the canal. They actually ran away in a vehicle with someone," Gurdaspur DSP Parlhad Singh said.
However, Sophia, who was with the girls at the time of incident, failed to identify the vehicle in which they left, he said.
Police said both the girls have actually "concocted" the story of their drowning in the canal.
"Sophia was asked by the girls to tell their parents that both were swept away in the canal," the DSP said.
He said suspicion arose when divers failed to trace bodies of the girls despite intensive search operation. The flow of water into the canal was also reduced to locate the bodies, DSP Singh said.
The search operation has been stopped, he said.
"Our priority is now to trace both the girls," the DSP said, adding the police are working on several angles, including love affair.