Coast Guard seeks action against 'missing' Vizag woman who eloped with lover

Visakhapatnam: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Saturday expressed displeasure over the recent episode of a missing woman. The 21-year-old N. Sai Priya disappeared from the RK Beach area in Vizag city and was later traced to Bengaluru.

Sai Priya reportedly went missing from the beach on the night of 25 July while her husband, who accompanied her, was busy checking his mobile phone. Suspecting that she might have been swept away by the waves as she was playing in the waters minutes before her disappearance, the police, the Navy, and the Coast Guard deployed all their resources to search for her in the Bay of Bengal. However, the police later found out that Sai Priya had eloped with a man, Ravi, to Bengaluru. The two were in love for many years. The ICG requested the Vizag city police take stringent action against the offenders involved in the incident.

The ICG deputy commandant of operations and plans for Commander Coast Guard district headquarters No. 6 (AP), D.P.V.A Trinadh, in a letter to the GVMC commissioner, city police commissioner, and district collector said three cost-effective ICG ships and a helicopter were used for the search operations on 26 and 27 July after receiving information from Three Town police station.

The deployment of ICG assets mean huge financial implications and waste of valuable human services. "ICG undertakes search and rescue operations as and when requested by the state administration or the local police without confirming the positive authentication. Information received, in this case, was false and the missing woman was found alive in Nellore," he said in the letter. The ICG further advised the police to provide positive confirmation prior to seeking the services of ICG for any search operation and requested them to take stringent action against the offenders involved in the incident.

The case of the missing woman

Sai Priya and Srinivasa Rao married in July 2020. While Srinivasa Rao works in a pharmacy company in Hyderabad, Sai Priya was a homemaker at their house in NAD junction. Srinivasa came to Vizag city a few days ago to celebrate their marriage anniversary. On 25 July, the couple went to RK Beach. While Srinivasa Rao was on his mobile, Sai Priya went missing. The missing woman and her lover came to Vizag city on the night of 29 July.

The police have registered cases against Sai Priya and Ravi.