Amritsar, June 7: The disappearance of an Australian national in Amritsar has culminated in a homicide investigation after local detectives traced a fatal real estate conflict within the family, Amritsar Rural Police announced on Sunday. Sunil Sharma, 66, was allegedly killed by his brother following a deep-seated asset disagreement shortly after arriving in the state from Melbourne.
The victim, a professional educator abroad, went missing nearly two weeks ago on May 22, setting off an extensive missing persons investigation that resonated with NRI communities overseas. Local police teams achieved a breakthrough after expanding their search parameters to include the victim’s brother, Sunny Sharma, who was eventually detained alongside several suspected accomplices after a brief period on the run.
A background check by local intelligence units revealed that the prime suspect was concurrently evading an outstanding arrest warrant in Himachal Pradesh connected to drug trafficking offenses under the NDPS Act. Detectives are currently interrogating the suspects to pinpoint the exact site where the crime took place and to recover the victim’s remains for formal medical examination.
The case originally opened as a routine abduction inquiry after the victim’s daughter published a direct video plea to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann seeking state support. With the confirmation of the victim’s death, prosecuting teams are re-filing the case under murder sections of the legal code.
The local department stated that technical teams worked around the clock once the traveler’s mobile communications were abruptly cut off at the end of May. They maintained that a comprehensive media brief by the SSP will soon clarify the specific roles played by the other individuals currently in custody.
“The police investigation took a major turn when the police named Sunil Sharma’s brother Sunny Sharma as the main suspect,” a district police source noted. “According to sources, a property dispute is being considered as the main reason behind this incident.”
Administrative officials affirmed that all legal resources are being deployed to ensure a swift trial for the affected NRI family.
“More details about the recovery of the body, the real reasons for the murder and the identity of all the arrested persons will be revealed after the official media briefing of the SSP,” an agency spokesperson declared.
