Ex-Chennai mayor offers Rs 1 crore to find son missing in Himachal Pradesh

Former Chennai mayor Saidai Duraisamy has announced a Rs 1-crore reward for anyone who can find his 45-year-old film producer son, who went missing after an accident in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

Vetri Duraisamy, 45, was reported missing after the car he was traveling in along with other passengers fell into the Sutlej river near Panjnala in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday . Duraisamy and his family have also appealed to locals to help them find Vetri.

The driver died in the incident, one tourist was injured and another tourist is still missing, officials said.

They said Vetri Duraisamy was one of two tourists from Tamil Nadu who fell 200 meters into the river after the driver lost control.

“I received a WhatsApp message from Saidai Duraisamy, the father of missing tourist Vetri and former mayor of Chennai. He announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who can find his son. Someone he trusted also contacted me about this issue.” Kinnaur deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Sharma told PTI.

The unfortunate vehicle was on its way to Shimla from Kaza when the accident occurred.

One of the three tourists, Gopinath (32), was seriously injured and was earlier admitted to Shimla hospital. The body of the driver, identified as Tan Jin, was found on Monday. Police said a search operation was underway to find the missing tourists.

Police said in a statement that the search team found the remains of a body on the river bank and sent it to the Junga National Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA extraction and analysis. Police added that the remains may belong to the missing person.

(with PTI input)