Delhi Police confirmed on Sunday evening that the six-day missing Sneha Debnath was found dead in the Yamuna River under the flyover at Geeta Colony. The 19-year-old student who died, was a resident of Sabroom in South Tripura district and was studying at Delhi University. She had last called her family members in the morning on July 7.
Sneha, a BA Mathematics student at Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, lived in South Delhi’s Paryavaran Complex. Her family described her as ‘a bright, ambitious young woman, full of life and dreams’, whose sudden disappearance left them shattered.
Her Last Phone Call
Sneha rang her mother at 5:56 AM on 7 July, claiming to go to Sarai Rohilla Railway Station with her friend Pitunia. But by 8:45 AM, her phone was off. Perturbed, the family rang Pitunia, who explained that she hadn’t met Sneha that morning.
This led the family to trace Sneha’s booked cab. The driver later confirmed dropping her near Delhi’s Signature Bridge that morning. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ankit Chauhan told PTI, “Investigation was taken up. The cab driver confirmed dropping her at the Signature Bridge. Technical surveillance revealed her last location was at Signature Bridge.”
Handwritten Note, Search Operation, and Eyewitnesses
A suicide note was found in Sneha’s room, and the police registered a case at Mehrauli Police Station and initiated a joint search operation with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Few witnesses have been reported seeing a girl on the Signature Bridge at approximately the time Sneha would have been present.
The local police and NDRF conducted thorough searches from Nigam Bodh Ghat to Noida. The search ended tragically on Sunday evening when a body was discovered under the Geeta Colony flyover. “A joint search with local police and NDRF was immediately initiated…She was identified by her family members,” stated DCP Chauhan.
Family Calls for Accountability
Sneha’s family members severely criticized the authorities for not having operational CCTV cameras on and around the Signature Bridge. “Even though the Signature Bridge is a hotspot for suicides, there isn’t even a single working CCTV camera on the bridge or in the surrounding areas,” one of her friends noted.
“It is unacceptable that there are zero CCTV cameras operational in a high-risk zone like Signature Bridge. My sister was missing, and we have no leads because the only tangible form of evidence, video footage, is not available. We want accountability from the Delhi Police and government, and urgent actions to rectify this negligent failure,” another family member chimed in.
They also pointed to jurisdictional ambiguity, explaining that the bridge is under four to five police stations and that they think blurred responsibility and created abysmal coordination.
Sneha’s Final Months Remain Mystery
Adding to the intrigue, a family friend came forward to say that Sneha had not made any bank transactions since the last four months, sparking worries about how she was managing to live.
She went missing on the day when she left home without taking any personal belongings with her.
In a last-ditch effort to track her down, Sneha’s family who are already dealing with her father Subedar Major (Hon.) Lt Pritish Debnath (Retd), suffering from chronic kidney failure and on dialysis, had even created an online dashboard to collect any likely leads from the public.
