Delhi: Search On For Two Telugu Doctors Missing Since X’mas 

NEW DELHI: Two doctors -- a man and a woman , have been missing from the national capital since Christmas afternoon, police said on Monday.

A police complaint was lodged by Dr G Sridhar, a senior resident at AIIMS who reported his wife, Dr Himabindu Saginatham (29), and his friend, Dr K Dileep Satya, to be missing.

Sridhar, who is a senior resident in the Department of Paediatrics at AIIMS, said that Satya, who resides in Chandigarh with his wife, had reached Delhi from Chennai on December 25 and visited their home.

"We three are very good friends and have done our under-graduation together. Satya treated my wife like his sister and for my wife, he was more than a brother. Whenever, I was not available I would always tell Satya and his wife to take care of her.

"Satya had gone to Puducherry on December 20 for DM counselling and on December 24 he took a flight from Chennai for Delhi. He was in touch with us all the time," Sridhar recalled.

Satya had done his post-graduation from PGI Chandigarh after which he completed his senior residency at the same hospital. He had resigned two months back and was preparing for DM exam. While Sridhar's wife works as a senior resident at N C Joshi Memorial hospital in Karol Bagh. She has done her post-graduation in Dermatology at AIIMS.

Sridhar cliamed that Satya also called him in the morning on December 25 after landing at the Delhi Airport. "I was on morning duty (8 am to 2pm) so left home for hospital around 7.30 am. My wife informed me after he reached my residence in Gautam Nagar at 8.45 am. They had breakfast together and then went to church with Satya's luggage. “He was to take a train to Chandigarh in the afternoon," Sridhar said.

At 2 pm, after his duty got over, he tried calling his wife and friend but their phones were switched off. He said he kept calling them for two hours after which he visited nearby churches but could not find them. He then informed Satya's wife and the parents of Himabindu. In the meantime, their friends and colleagues were also alerted. He filed a police complaint at around 8 PM.

"I feel something terrible has happened to them. It has been several days and they have not contacted anybody. They have not used any cards and there has been no (online/ATM financial) transaction since December 25," he said.

According to police, Satya in his complaint said that he was on duty and last spoke to his wife at 11.30 am when she told him that she was going to the church. Since then, he has had no contact with either of them, the FIR stated.

According to a senior police officer, they registered a case under section 365 (kidnapping) IPC on December 25 at Hauz Khas police station. Multiple teams have been sent to different parts of the country, including Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh, but the duo are yet to be traced, the officer said.

Himabindu hails from Proddatur while her husband Sridhar, a senior resident at the AIIMS, hails from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. Dilip Satya hails from Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh and lives in Chandigarh with his wife Divya. Himabindhu and her husband Sridhar have been residing in Delhi for the last six years and were planning to return to their hometown in the near future. Sudhir said that the three of them have been friends for twelve years and Dilip had helped the two of them get married. He said that his wife and Dilip were like a brother and sister. He also denied that there were any threats from any quarter. With all their efforts hitting a wall, the family have approached the media in the last hope that some leads could emerge if they spread the word of the disappearance.

In the the meanwhile family members of Himabindu and Dilip arrived in Delhi to help in the search efforts. The police tried to trace the whereabouts through cell phone locations, call data and bank accounts but failed to make any headway. Even the driver of the Uber cab that Dilip had booked, said that he returned from the pickup location when there was no response to his phone calls when he reached the place. But with all their efforts coming to nought, they now fear the worst.

The Resident Doctors Association of AIIMS has launched a campaign on twitter, Facebook and whatsapp seeking help to trace the two doctors. AIIMS RDA has also written to the Home Secretary seeking intervention to trace Dr Himabindu.

"We would like to inform you that no information about her whereabouts has been found till date though the incident took place 6 days ago. It is to humbly request you to direct the concerned officials to pursue the matter on priority basis. An early action in this regard would be deeply appreciated," they said in their letter. (With inputs from Agencies)

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