Father of missing TN tourist announces ?1 crore reward

Father of a tourist from Tamil Nadu announced a reward of ?1 crore to anyone who finds his son who has been missing since an accident in in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, officials said on Tuesday.

The car he was travelling in plunged into Sutlej river near Pangi Nullah on Sunday. The driver was killed in the incident while one tourist was injured and the other was still missing, they said.

Vetri was one of two tourists from Tamil Nadu who fell 200 metres down into the river after the driver lost control over the vehicle, they said.

“I have received a WhatsApp message from the missing tourist Vetri’s father Saidai Duraisamy, a former mayor of Chennai. He has announced to give a reward of ?1 crore to anyone who finds his son. His trusted people have also contacted me in this regard,” Kinnaur deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Sharma said.

Station-house officer Janeshwar Singh confirmed that efforts were underway to locate the tourist. Nearly 100 men, comprising army jawans, police personnel and personnel of the National Disaster Response Force ( NDRF) are looking for the missing tourist.

The accident occurred on Sunday, February 4, as Vetri and his companion Gopinath were travelling from Lahaul and Spiti towards Shimla. The Innova car, bearing registration number HP-01AA-1111, lost control and fell into a 200-meter-deep ditch. Gopinath also sustained serious injuries in the crash.

The driver, identified as Tenzin from Tabo in Lahaul Spiti, was found dead at the scene.