Nearly 26 years after four members of a family mysteriously disappeared while returning from a wedding in Punjab, a major breakthrough has finally brought long-awaited closure to the grieving relatives after a submerged Maruti Omni containing skeletal remains was recovered from the Bhakra canal near Kiratpur Sahib in Rupnagar district.
The victims were identified as Munilal, Tej Ram, Surjit Singh and eight-year-old Kalu, all residents of Kotla village near Kiratpur Sahib.
According to family members, the four individuals disappeared on October 20, 2000, while travelling back from a wedding function in the Maruti Omni van. When they failed to return home, relatives and villagers immediately launched extensive search efforts in and around the Bhakra canal area.
At the time, the disappearance triggered panic and desperation within the family. Divers were reportedly brought in from different states, and large sums of money were spent searching the canal and nearby areas for any trace of the missing van or its occupants.
Family members said they spent lakhs of rupees during the search operation, but despite repeated efforts, neither the vehicle nor the missing persons could be located. Over the years, the case gradually faded from public attention, even though the uncertainty continued to haunt the family.
The mystery remained unresolved for more than two decades until local diver Kamalpreet Saini recently conducted a deep underwater search operation inside the approximately 32-foot-deep canal.
During the search, Saini reportedly noticed what appeared to be an old submerged vehicle resting underwater. After the vehicle was brought out, skeletal remains were discovered inside the van.
Authorities and relatives later identified the vehicle as the missing Maruti Omni. Family members said one of the key details that helped confirm the identity of the victims was the discovery of a shirt resembling a school uniform found among the remains.
The recovery finally enabled the family to perform the last rites of the deceased according to religious customs after nearly 26 years of uncertainty and emotional trauma.
Relatives later immersed the ashes of the deceased, bringing a symbolic end to one of the region’s longest unresolved disappearance mysteries.
Police officials stated that the matter is currently being examined, although relatives largely believe the victims accidentally plunged into the canal while returning home on the night they disappeared.
Sita Devi, the wife of deceased Munilal, recalled the years of painful searching after the family members never returned from the wedding function. She said the family exhausted its savings while attempting to locate the missing persons and eventually had to stop searching because they no longer had the financial means to continue.
She also expressed gratitude toward diver Kamalpreet Saini for finally helping recover the remains of their loved ones after decades of uncertainty.
Munilal’s son, Gurvinder, said his father had travelled to the wedding function to drop off two individuals and had taken along his younger brother. When they failed to return, the family searched extensively for years but never received any answers.
He said the family had never been able to find peace regarding the disappearance until the submerged vehicle was finally located and recovered.
Another relative, Sandeep Singh, stated that the family struggled financially and emotionally because there was never any official confirmation of death.
According to him, the absence of proof prevented the family from receiving government assistance or completing legal formalities connected to the missing persons. He expressed hope that now, after confirmation of the deaths, authorities might extend support to the affected family.
Ram Kumar, brother of one of the deceased individuals, recalled that the family had spent nearly Rs 1.5 lakh on divers during the original search operation back in 2000.
He said the family initially believed that the strong canal current might have swept the vehicle far away from the suspected accident location. However, the van was ultimately discovered near the same area where relatives had long suspected it had fallen into the canal.
Ram Kumar added that the unresolved disappearance had deeply affected the entire family, especially their elderly father, who reportedly spent years worrying about what had happened to the missing relatives.
According to the family, the recovery of the skeletal remains and the completion of the final rites have finally provided a sense of emotional closure and peace after nearly 26 years of unanswered questions and grief.
