11 members of family going from Ayodhya to Himachal's Manali 'missing' since July 9

Eleven members of a family from Ayodhya, who had boarded a bus in Chandigarh for Himachal Pradesh's Manali on July 9, have been missing since then, relatives said on Monday.

The relatives have approached the Ayodhya police after they came to know that a bus had an accident on the night of July 9 in the Himachal region and feared that the eleven may have boarded the same bus.

The relatives have given a written complaint to the police in this regard and appealed to Himachal Pradesh authorities to help trace the missing persons.

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The missing members of the family are Abdul Majeed (62), his wife Nazima (60), his son Bashar (42), Bashar's wife Parveen (40), Bashar's two sons -- Waris Ali (10) and Mausam (6) and daughter Alvira (4), Majeed's younger son Omaisa, Majeed's daughter Kareena (18), Ishtihar (21), Ishtihar's wife Shabna (19).

All the missing persons are natives of Pithla village in Ayodhya, police said, adding they worked as daily wage labourers in Manali.

Majeed's relative Ejaz Ahmed (30), a native of Musafirkhana in Amethi district who accompanied him, is also missing.

Ayodhya additional SP Atul Kumar Sonkar told PTI, "We are in contact with the Himachal Pradesh police and trying to trace the missing family."

According to the relatives, Majeed and his family left their home in Ayodhya on July 8 and boarded a bus in Chandigarh on July 9 for Manali.

The relatives said that they spoke to the family members on July 9 moments before they boarded the bus to reach Manali by midnight but they did not reach there and their phones are unreachable.

Rehbar, Majeed's son-in-law who was in Manali on that day, was in regular contact with the family members.

Rehbar said that Kareena, one of the missing person, had said that by midnight of July 9/10, they (Majeed and family) would reach Manali bus stand, and had asked him to receive them.

Rehbar said he kept waiting for his in-laws at Manali bus stand but they did not reach there. He also tried to contact them, but all the mobile phones were found switched off.

Rehbar said he later came to know that a portion of road in Manali was washed away on the night of July 9 due to the floods caused by heavy rains in the state.

Some buses and other vehicles parked on the road were also washed away in the floods, he said.