CHANDIGARH: The body of a 23-year-old Haryana-based model Sheetal was found in a canal in Sonipat with throat slit, two days after she was reported missing.
Sources said that Sheetal alias Simmy Chaudhry was working as a model in the Haryanvi music industry, and before that, she was employed at a hotel in Karnal. She was living with her sister, Neha, in Panipat.
On June 14, the model went for a shoot in the Ahar village. However, when she did not return home, her sister filed a missing persons complaint with the Panipat police.
Her body, found in a canal close to Khanda village by the police has been sent for post-mortem. Sheetal had left two days ago in a car with a man identified as Sunil and the vehicle reportedly fell into the canal under suspicious circumstances.
Sunil was rescued and is presently admitted in a private hospital in Panipat and is under treatment, said sources.
"Police received information that the body of a young woman was found in the canal, who was later identified as Sheetal. A police complaint was registered in Panipat regarding her going missing. A postmortem will be done and further investigation is underway," ACP Kharkhoda, Sonipat, Jeet Singh said.
Meanwhile, Sheetal's family has alleged foul play, insisting she was murdered and had drowned accidentally.
In her statement to the police, Neha said that Sheetal had called her on the night of 14 June, claiming that a former friend, Sunil from Panipat, had turned up at a shooting location and assaulted her.