Sonipat: A young model from Haryana’s Panipat district, identified as Sheetal alias Simmy Chaudhry, has been found dead in a canal in Sonipat with her throat slit, prompting a joint investigation by the Sonipat and Panipat police. The body was found near Khanda village in the Kharkhoda region on Sunday, two days after she was reported missing.

Sheetal, who recently began her career in the Haryanvi music industry, was originally from Khalila Majra village in Panipat. She had previously worked at a hotel in Karnal before transitioning into modelling just six months ago. According to officials, she had been living with her sister Neha in Panipat and left for a music video shoot in Ahar village on June 14. She never returned.

Following her disappearance, Neha lodged a missing persons report at the Old Industrial Police Station in Panipat. The family’s worst fears were confirmed when Sonipat Police found her body floating in a canal near the Reliance facility in Kharkhoda.

“We received information about the presence of the body of a woman in a canal. Police reached the spot and initiated an investigation. In the process of identifying the body, it was found that a missing report for a woman, Sheetal, had been filed in Panipat. The Police are undertaking further actions,” Sonipat ACP Headquarters Ajit Singh told ANI.

Sheetal’s sister alleges foul play

Neha recounted that Sheetal had made a distress call on the night of June 14. According to Hindustan Times, during that conversation, Sheetal claimed she had been assaulted by her former acquaintance, Sunil, at the shoot location.

“She also told me that Sunil was mounting pressure on her to go with her. Thereafter, her phone disconnected, and she was unreachable. On Sunday, Sunil’s car slipped into a canal in Delhi, and he was taken out by a passerby, but my sister was not in the car. We suspect that Sunil killed my sister, and he is concocting a false story. He is undergoing treatment in a hospital in Panipat,” Neha added.

She further alleged that Sunil and Sheetal became acquainted during her stint at his hotel. “Sunil mounted pressure on her to tie a knot, but she came to know that he was already married and the father of two kids. Then, Sheetal left the job, but the hotel owner continued to chase her,” Neha said.

Body found during recovery operation

According to police sources, Sheetal had left for the shoot with Sunil in a car that later fell into the canal under mysterious circumstances. While Sunil survived and is currently receiving medical care, Sheetal’s body was found during the retrieval of the vehicle.

DSP Rajbir Singh told local media that there were visible injury marks on Sheetal’s body, confirming that it was a case of murder.

The body has been sent for post-mortem examination at a civil hospital, and law enforcement is treating the case as a homicide.

This tragic incident follows closely on the heels of another disturbing case involving a woman from the digital content industry. Last week, the body of social media influencer Kamal Kaur was found in a vehicle parked at Adesh Medical University along the Bathinda-Chandigarh National Highway. She had also been missing since June 9. CCTV footage later revealed a man driving the car in which her body was found.