Missing DU student's body found in Yamuna River after 6 days
New Delhi, Jul 13 (PTI): The body of 19-year-old Sneha Debnath, a Delhi University student missing for six days, was retrieved from the Yamuna River near Geeta Colony flyover on Sunday evening, police said.
Debnath, a resident of Paryavaran Complex in south Delhi, hails from Tripura. She was reported missing on July 7. A search had been launched following the registration of a missing person FIR at the Mehrauli Police Station.
According to police, Debnath left a handwritten note behind, indicating an intent to jump off the Signature Bridge, built across the Yamuna River.
Police traced Debnath's movements through technical surveillance and confirmed her last known location as the Signature Bridge. The cab driver who dropped her there, as well as some eyewitnesses, said that they saw a woman standing on the bridge and later disappearing from the spot, they said.
A massive search operation was launched with the help of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local police units, covering the Yamuna stretch from Nigam Bodh Ghat to Noida.
Officials confirmed that her body was seen floating in the river under the Geeta Colony flyover. It was later identified by her family members.
Police said Debnath had sent messages through email and messaging apps to her close friends in the early hours of July 7. Her friends informed investigators that she had been disturbed and emotionally distressed for the past few months.
Her family and friends have also expressed concerns about the surveillance infrastructure in the area around the Signature Bridge.
A friend of Debnath claimed that none of the CCTV cameras on the Signature Bridge or in the vicinity were operational at the time she was spotted there.
"Despite the Signature Bridge being a suicide-prone area, there is not a single CCTV camera that works on the bridge or in nearby areas," she alleged.
Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha had earlier acknowledged Debnath's disappearance in a post on X, noting that she hailed from Sabroom in south Tripura. He also directed police to take immediate action.
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P&H High Court denies anticipatory bail to man accused of replacing national flag with saffron flag
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to Vikas Tomar, who is accused of removing the national flag from a mosque in Gurugram’s Uton village and replacing it with a saffron flag.
Justice Manisha Batra, presiding over the case Vikas Tomar @ Vikash Tomar v. State of Haryana, observed that the allegations against the petitioner were not vague but specific, and supported by conversations between him and other co-accused.
“The gravity of the offence and its potential impact on public order and communal peace cannot be overlooked at this stage,” the Court noted. It further stated that no exceptional circumstances had been presented that would justify granting pre-arrest bail, especially given the “serious communal and constitutional implications” of the alleged conduct.
According to the prosecution, a complaint was filed on July 7 in Bilaspur, Gurugram, reporting that anti-social elements had replaced the national flag atop a mosque with a saffron flag. Audio and video evidence were submitted along with the complaint. Two other accused were initially arrested under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act, 1971, but were granted bail the same day.
The Sessions Court had earlier denied anticipatory bail to Tomar on July 15, with Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Chauhan observing that such acts threaten the social fabric in a diverse country like India. He remarked, “Any person of ordinary prudence and slightest of patriotism in his heart would not have dared to commit such a crime.”
Tomar's counsel argued before the High Court that he was not named in the FIR and had no role in the alleged incident. However, opposing counsel representing the State and the complainant contended that Tomar aimed to provoke communal unrest in the region.
Justice Batra, after considering the arguments, concluded that custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary. “No ground for grant of anticipatory bail is made out,” the Court held.
Advocate Abhimanyu Singh appeared for the petitioner, while Additional Advocate General Apoorv Garg represented the State of Haryana. Advocate Rosi appeared for the complainant.
The bail plea was dismissed.
