Missing for 23 days, Moga woman, 2 kids traced

Manpreet said she had avoided going to her parents’ home for as long as possible and had chosen to stay at ashrams instead because she knew her husband will contact her parents

A woman who had gone missing from her marital home in Takhtupura Sahib village of Moga with her children after a dispute with her husband on May 31, was found at her maternal home in Barnala on Thursday, 23 days after her disappearance.

She had to return to her parents after ashrams refused to accommodate her without informing the police. (HT File)

It was initially suspected that the woman, Manpreet Kaur, and her two children – aged four and two – were being kept in illegal custody in Ludhiana, following which the Ludhiana unit of the police was roped in, said additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, investigation) Rupinder Kaur Bhatti.

Manpreet could not be traced in Ludhiana and had kept her phone switched off to avoid detection, Bhatti said.

“We learnt that the woman had stayed at a shelter home in Jalandhar and later found out that she had also sought shelter in ashrams in Ludhiana as well. Following her trail, the police traced her at her maternal home, a day after she reached there,” said the ADCP.

Manpreet said she had avoided going to her parents’ home for as long as possible and had chosen to stay at ashrams instead because she knew her husband will contact her parents. She had to return to her parents after ashrams refused to accommodate her without informing the police.