A 66-year-old Australian citizen has gone missing during his trip to India, and his family is now desperately searching for answers. Sunil Sharma was in Amritsar, Punjab, preparing to sell an investment property, when he disappeared on Friday, May 22. According to his family, both Sharma and his car have been missing since then.
His daughter, Surbhi Sharma, told HindustanTimes.com that she fears foul play in her father’s disappearance. She claims that she last heard from him on Friday.
Sunil Sharma’s daughter on his disappearance
“My father had a house in Mohali, and another property in Amritsar. He was preparing to sell the property in Amritsar,” she told HindustanTimes.com over a phone call. “Papa visited India often. On Friday, he went to Amritsar and he was never seen again.”
"I got a call Saturday morning [from my brother] saying, 'Have you spoken to Dad?'" she further told ABC News. "And I said, 'No, I've not heard from him since yesterday morning.'''
Surbhi said that her father, a high school maths teacher, was born in India and had lived in Australia for 32 years. He was in Punjab overseeing painting work at the property before it was put on the market.
The FIR
According to Surbhi, one of her father’s friends in India alerted local authorities after he could not be reached. Daribjot Singh, Sunil Sharma’s friend, filed an FIR at Kamboj Police Station in Amritsar Rural.
{{/usCountry}}According to Surbhi, one of her father’s friends in India alerted local authorities after he could not be reached. Daribjot Singh, Sunil Sharma’s friend, filed an FIR at Kamboj Police Station in Amritsar Rural.
{{/usCountry}}The complaint says that on May 21, 2026, at around 7:38 pm, Sunil Sharma called Daribjot Singh and informed him that he planned to sell the house the following day. He also said he would visit the Amritsar property with a painter to get painting work done there.
On the morning of May 22, Sunil Sharma drove his white Maruti Suzuki SX4 car (registration number PB 65 AA 9841) along with the painter to the Amritsar house.
The next day, on May 23 at around 9:25 am, Daribjot Singh tried calling Sunil Sharma on his mobile phone, but the phone was switched off. He continued trying to contact him repeatedly, but the calls did not go through.
"So my dad and my dad's car are completely gone," his daughter Surbhi said.
A case of kidnapping
Surbhi claimed that her father’s brother, Sunny, could be involved in his disappearance. She said that police investigating the case are trying to track him down. “Sunny was seen going to the Amritsar property four times on Friday,” she told Hindustantimes.com.
"My dad's brother … I believe is also someone the police are searching for at the moment because my dad's brother was last seen in the house on Friday," Surbhi Sharma said. “A kidnapping case has since been registered with local authorities in connection with his disappearance.”
Shamsher Singh from the Amritsar Rural Police told the ABC officers were investigating all possible angles, including abduction.