The body of a 19-year-old Delhi University student, who had been missing since July 7, was retrieved from the Yamuna river near the Geeta Colony flyover on Sunday evening, the police said.
A search for Sneha Debnath, a resident of Paryavaran Complex in south Delhi, was launched following the registration of a missing person FIR at the Mehrauli police station.
According to the police, Debnath, a native of Tripura, left a handwritten note behind. “She had sent messages through e-mail and messaging apps to her close friends in the early hours of July 7. Her friends informed investigators that she had been emotionally distressed for the past few months,” a police officer said.
The police traced Debnath’s movements and confirmed her last known location to the Signature Bridge. The cab driver who dropped her there, as well as some eyewitnesses, said that they saw a woman standing on the bridge and later disappearing from the spot.
An officer said that a massive search operation was launched with the help of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local police units, covering the stretch of the Yamuna river from Nigambodh Ghat to Noida. Her family members identified the body after it was found.
Earlier, Debnath’s family and friends had expressed concerns about the alleged lack of surveillance in the area. “Despite the Signature Bridge being a suicide-prone area, there is not a single CCTV camera that works on the bridge. The bridge reportedly falls under the jurisdiction of four to five different police stations. Though cameras have been installed by these stations individually, none of them are functional,” one of her close friends said.
(Those in distress may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline 011-40769002.)
Published – July 14, 2025 01:35 am IST
