Vadodara, Nov 29 (IANS): In a twist to the missing case of 19-year-old Fardeen Vohra, Vadodara rural police have intensified their search amid growing suspicion that he may be hiding.

Vohra, who disappeared on November 21, was allegedly trying to elope with a minor girl from his neighborhood, leading to a dramatic sequence of events.

The police initially believed Vohra might have taken his own life after leaving the girl at Gol Gamedi chowkdi in Chhota Udepur’s Sankheda taluka. However, this theory was put into question after extensive searches in the Narmada canal failed to recover a body. The minor girl has since returned home safely.

The families of both Vohra and the minor had warned them to stay away from each other due to the girl’s age.

This is not the first time they attempted to leave together. It seems Vohra panicked after a phone call from her mother and suggested to the girl that they jump into the canal together. However, she refused, and he left her at the Gol Gamedi chowkdi. Given the absence of a body and any sightings, the likelihood of suicide seems less now, officials confirmed.

The police have formed teams and are searching for Vohra, suspecting that he is evading arrest under the fear of being booked under the POCSO Act for kidnapping a minor. The incident has stirred the community, with police maintaining a constant presence in the area where both families reside.