Daughter of mayor from Nepal goes ‘missing’ in Goa, found in hotel two days later

PTI, Mar 27, 2024, 2:21 PM IST

Two days after the 36-year-old daughter of a mayor in Nepal was reported missing from Goa, she was traced to a hotel in the coastal state on Wednesday, police said.

The woman, Aarti Hamal, was found at the hotel located at Chopdem village in North Goa, around 20 km away from where she went missing on March 25, they said.

“Hamal was reported missing from the Osho meditation centre near Mandrem in North Goa, where she arrived from Nepal a month back. The management of the centre had lodged a missing person’s complaint at Mandrem police station,” a senior police official said.

Before going missing, the woman was last seen at Siolim (North Goa) on March 25, he said.

“A massive search operation was launched across the state to trace her,” the official said, adding that the eyewitnesses claimed that she was very much in her senses when they last saw her.

Police had also started looking for her at another Osho centre in the state located at Canacona, he added.

“She has been frequently visiting Goa. She had left her phone back at the Osho centre, due to which she could not be traced with the help of technical surveillance,” he said.

The state police had started searching all the hotels in and around Pernem and Mandrem areas of North Goa, the official said.

“On Wednesday, Hamal was found in a hotel at Chopdem village along with two other women, who are her friends,” he said.

The police are in the process of recording her statement, the official said, adding that her family members have arrived in the state.

Her father had earlier released a post on social media seeking help from the people to trace her.