A couple and their six-year-old daughter from Jammu and Kashmir's Doda were found alive in Haryana, 20 days after they were presumed dead after their car was found plunged into river Chenab in the hilly district last month.
Manjeet Singh staged the accident to evade his loan debits but his endeavour was nailed by the police who traced him in Haryana's Panchkula and brought him back here to face the law, an official said.
The official said the 31-year-old Singh along with his wife and daughter were reported missing on December 20, last year after their car reportedly met with an accident near Gadsoo in Doda district while they were on their way to Jammu from their Bhaderwah residence.
Immediately after getting information about the accident, senior police and civil officers rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue operation.
Police teams found two identity cards, a driving license and an e-Shram card belonging to Singh including a purse from the spot where the car had rolled down into the river, the official said. The vehicle was retrieved from the Chenab river, while the rescuers including SDRF teams could not find the bodies or luggage during the operation which continued for several days.
The official said police started looking at other aspects like the financial condition of the missing family.
During the investigation, it transpired that Singh had taken a loan of Rs 30 lakhs from different banks and private lenders to establish his business.
Following this, the police got suspicious and Doda Senior Superintendent of Police Abdul Qayoom constituted a special team to search for the missing family, he said.
With the help of Haryana police, the family was found in Panchkula's Abhaypura village and have been brought back to Doda, the official said.
A case has been registered against Singh and further investigation is underway, he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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