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Britain urges India to order CBI probe into missing NRI`s case
London, June 22: Britain has urged India to order a CBI probe into the mysterious disappearance of a NRI customs officer during her visit to India more than four years ago, a media report said here today.
London, June 22: Britain has urged India to order a CBI probe into the mysterious disappearance of a NRI customs officer during her visit to India more than four years ago, a media report said here today.
The Metropolitan Police has announced a reward of 10,000 pounds for any information about the disappearance of Surjit Kaur Athwal, a customs officer at Heathrow airport, treating the case as a murder inquiry, the 'Independent' daily reported.
A foreign office spokeswoman said the British High Commission has written to Indian authorities to urge them to refer the case to CBI, it reported.
Surjit, who had started divorce proceedings, was last seen in December 1998 when she flew to Punjab with her mother-in-law, leaving her two children behind with her husband at their home in Hayes, Middlesex. But her return air ticket had never been used.
Detectives earlier arrested Sukhdev Athwal, Surjit's husband, as well as her mother-in-law and two other family members in connection with her disappearance, but they were released without any charge.
Surjit's brother Jagdeesh Singh Dhillon, who works for the Race Equality Council in Slough, Berkshire, has accused the British authorities of "apathetic and unequal" approach in probing into the circumstances of her disappearance. However, the foreign office said "every attempt" was made to help them.
The body of the missing woman was never found, but her family received a string of anonymous phone calls made in London and Punjab since she went missing, the report said, adding the male caller was "anxious to see justice done" and has told how Surjit was strangled by two men.
Bureau Report
A foreign office spokeswoman said the British High Commission has written to Indian authorities to urge them to refer the case to CBI, it reported.
Surjit, who had started divorce proceedings, was last seen in December 1998 when she flew to Punjab with her mother-in-law, leaving her two children behind with her husband at their home in Hayes, Middlesex. But her return air ticket had never been used.
Detectives earlier arrested Sukhdev Athwal, Surjit's husband, as well as her mother-in-law and two other family members in connection with her disappearance, but they were released without any charge.
Surjit's brother Jagdeesh Singh Dhillon, who works for the Race Equality Council in Slough, Berkshire, has accused the British authorities of "apathetic and unequal" approach in probing into the circumstances of her disappearance. However, the foreign office said "every attempt" was made to help them.
The body of the missing woman was never found, but her family received a string of anonymous phone calls made in London and Punjab since she went missing, the report said, adding the male caller was "anxious to see justice done" and has told how Surjit was strangled by two men.
Bureau Report