Melbourne Maths Teacher Sunil Sharma Vanishes On India Trip As Daughter Fears Kidnapping, Uncle Flees City

Sunil Sharma (right) with his daughter Surbhi. Photo: Supplied

A Melbourne maths teacher has been missing from the northern Indian state of Punjab  for nearly a week, with his family expressing fears for his safety.

Australian authorities have warned the family not to travel to India to search for him. 

Sunil Sharma, 66, who was weeks away from retirement, was overseeing renovation work at his investment property in Amritsar, Punjab.  His daughter, Surbhi Sharma told ABC News that the family hasn’t been able to contact him since last Friday. His car vanished with him. 

Speaking to 7News, Surbhi, who has frantically tried contacting relatives to find Sharma,  said: "I'm really, really worried about him. I just can't understand where he could be." 

CCTV Footage Captures Melbourne Teacher's Last Known Moments

Sunil Sharma (66), a maths teacher at a Melbourne school has gone missing in India. Photo: Supplied

Sharma, a maths teacher, has been working at Diamond Valley College in Melbourne's north for the past 15 years. The Amritsar property was being prepared for sale — part of what the family described as a plan to wind up his affairs in India before coming home for good. 

Sharma’s last known movements were captured on CCTV. The footage from the property shows Sharma arriving twice to oversee a group of painters. His uncle then arrived and sent the painters away. That was the last confirmed sighting. 

Uncle Is Being Treated As Person Of Interest

Sunil Sharma (left) with his daughter Surbhi and son Saransh. Photo: Supplied

Surbhi told the Herald Sun that her uncle — her father's brother — is now being treated as a person of interest by Punjab police, who have been unable to locate him. She says he fled Amritsar two days after her father disappeared.

"On Sunday morning, really early, he got a truck, packed up his family, his furniture, and fled the city," she said.

She added that her uncle already had an outstanding warrant with Punjab police for unrelated matters. "This man is already wanted by them, and now, potentially, involved in something else. They weren't close, they've had an on-and-off relationship for years." 

Police are also understood to be speaking with a prospective buyer connected to the property.

Australian officials advised Surbhi and her brother Saransh against travelling to India, warning that in cases involving property disputes and potential extortion, relatives can also become targets.