Missing for 6 days, Tripura girl’s body found in Yamuna
Sneha Debnath, a 19-year-old student of Delhi University and a resident of Tripura, who had been missing for the past six days, was found dead in the Yamuna, the Delhi Police confirmed on Sunday.
Her body was retrieved near Geeta Colony flyover, about 10 km downstream from Signature Bridge, her last known location. The family members have identified the body, which has been sent for a post-mortem examination.
The police said Sneha, who was studying at Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, left behind a handwritten note, indicating an intent to die by suicide. Her distress appeared to be family-related issues, not academics.
According to police sources, Sneha had sent emails and messages to her close friends in the early hours of July 7. Her friends told investigators that she was emotionally distressed for the past few months.
The police traced Sneha’s last movements through technical surveillance and confirmed that she took a cab to Signature Bridge on July 7. The cab driver confirmed dropping her off at the location. Some eyewitnesses reported seeing a young woman standing on the bridge before she disappeared.
A large-scale search operation was launched by the Delhi Police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) across a stretch of the Yamuna from Nigam Bodh Ghat to Noida. Her body was finally found near Geeta Colony flyover.
Her family members, who had been frantically searching for her since her disappearance, had earlier raised serious questions over the delay in investigation and lack of functioning CCTV cameras on and around Signature Bridge. According to her parents, Sneha had not withdrawn any money for four months and left home without any belongings.
In a public statement, Sneha’s family had said, “We are devastated and deeply anguished by the disappearance of our daughter, Sneha Debnath — a bright, ambitious young woman full of life and dreams. This is not just about Sneha, this is about the safety and dignity of every young woman in this city.”
The case also drew the attention of Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, who had directed the police to take urgent action. “The report of Miss Sneha Debnath, a resident of Sabroom, who has reportedly gone missing in New Delhi, has come to the notice of the Chief Minister’s Office. Following this, necessary instructions have been promptly issued to the police to take immediate and appropriate action,” the Chief Minister’s Office posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
The police said they were awaiting the autopsy report and further investigations were underway.
Delhi