Aussie daughter's desperate plea to hear from her father after he mysteriously vanished while on a trip to India

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 15:18, 28 May 2026 | Updated: 15:18, 28 May 2026 A woman broke down while begging for her father to make contact after he disappeared in India. Sunil Sharma, a 66-year-old Australian teacher, was overseeing renovation work at his investment property in Amritsar, in Punjab - northwest India, when he ceased all contact on Friday. His frightened daughter, Surbhi Sharma, has spent the last five days desperately contacting relatives in the hopes of finding him. She said his brother was the last to see him but she has not heard from him either.  Ms Sharma on Thursday told 7News she's 'really, really worried about him'. 'I just can't understand where he could be,' she said.  Mr Sharma was last seen at the property on Friday, the same day his daughter last heard from him. CCTV footage from the property, which Mr Sharma was preparing to sell, showed him arriving and leaving twice while overseeing a group of painters. Sunil Sharma (pictured with his children), a 66-year-old Melbourne maths teacher, has gone missing in Punjab, northwest India Mr Sharma's daughter, Surbhi Sharma (above), last spoke to her father on Friday Ms Sharma's uncle then arrived at the property and sent the painters away. He was seen travelling back and forth from the home four times on Friday. 'Then my dad is nowhere to be seen and his car is completely gone,' Ms Sharma said. Ms Sharma earlier told the Herald Sun her uncle, Mr Sharma's brother, is being treated as a person of interest by police, who've been unable to locate him. She claimed her uncle and his family 'fled' shortly after her father stopped replying to his children.  'On Sunday morning, really early, he got a truck, packed up his family, his furniture, and fled the city,' Ms Sharma said. 'My uncle already has a warrant with the same Punjab police for other matters. This man is already wanted by them, and now, potentially, involved in something else. 'They weren't close, they've had an on-and-off relationship for years.' Mr Sharma has taught at Melbourne's Diamond Valley College for the last 15 years. He has been a maths teacher his entire adult life and was nearing retirement. Mr Sharma (above) was in Amritsar, Punjab, preparing an investment property for sale His family have been keeping in close contact with authorities in India over their father's disappearance, as well as local family and friends. However, she and her brother were both told not to go to Amritsar. 'If there is something to do with … kidnapping or extortion or something like that, they said it's not uncommon for family members also to be taken in,' Ms Sharma told ABC. Local police are also attempting to speak with a potential buyer who was also seen at Mr Sharma's property.  The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian reported missing in India. Ms Sharma said she's barely slept since her father went missing and has been left feeling 'so helpless'.  'It's been really hard, and every day that goes by, it's really tough,' she said. 'I just really hope that they're just searching for him everywhere. My ideal scenario is he's well and being taken care of somewhere, and just hasn't been able to make contact with us.' Ms Sharma believes her uncle is involved in the disappearance of her father (pictured with his children)  Mr Sharma (above) was last seen at his investment property on Friday She broke down during her interview with 7News, pleading desperately for someone to come forward with information about her father. 'I just need him to contact me,' Ms Sharma said. Then to her uncle, she said: 'Contact your sister and tell us what you saw, what happened and how you left him.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.