Ludhiana, Feb. 19 -- The body of a youth from Samrala, who had been missing for the past 13 days, was on Tuesday recovered from a forested area along the Sirhind canal near Machhiwara, triggering allegations of murder by the victim's family.

The deceased's mother had lodged a missing person report with the police, stating that he had been untraceable since February 5. Following the complaint, police had launched a search operation.

During the investigation, the mobile phone location data and CCTV footage revealed that the deceased had gone to Khamano with a group of friends shortly before he disappeared. According to family members, he was addicted to drugs and had spent about a year at a de-addiction centre. He had returned home a few ...