Delhi: Unable to find missing woman, cop ‘sought divine intervention’

Over six months after a 58-year-old Air India employee went missing from outside her house on Pandara Road, her family has alleged the Crime Branch inspector working on the case “asked for her kundali (horoscope) and showed it to a pandit for help”.

The missing woman Sulakshna Narula’s son Anubhav (27) claimed the inspector wanted to understand his mother’s nature better, and the family mentioned that she was a religious person.

“End of February, he asked for her horoscope. He later told us that a pandit told him that my mother’s ‘maha dosh’ was on till April, and so was his. Instead of scoping out areas and looking for clues, the police is going to pandits,” he alleged.

When contacted, inspector Vijay Samaria declined to comment, while Additional CP (Crime) Rajiv Ranjan said that “no such matter has come to my notice. We believe in a scientific investigation.”

On the evening of September 30, 2018, Narula, who was posted as a manager with the catering department of Air India, went missing. “Earlier that year, my mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she suffered from depression due to personal and professional reasons. She had not gone to work for months. That day, at 6.08 pm, she went downstairs and a minute later, when I reached, she was gone,” said Anubhav.

The family has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any credible information on Narula and has also started an app called “Help Find Mrs Sulakshna Narula” with her photo, description and their phone numbers.

“We distributed pamphlets, made pages on social media and sent WhatsApp forwards and then made an app, which we hope police officers working on this case will download so that her photo and description are always available,” said Anubhav.

Since he made the app in January, he has been approached by family members of other missing people. “I made the app for a senior DD official whose child went missing five years ago. I have received other similar requests,” said Anubhav.