Missing Melbourne teacher allegedly murdered by brother in India

Sun 7 Jun 2026 at 9:20am

Sun 7 Jun 2026 at 9:20am

In short:

Indian police allege missing Melbourne high school maths teacher Sunil Sharma was murdered by his brother and dumped in a canal.

The Australian citizen had gone back to his country of birth to attend to property matters but went missing last month.

His grieving daughter Surbhi Sharma has paid tribute to her father, saying she counts herself lucky to have had a loving father like him.

Melbourne maths teacher Sunil Sharma, who went missing in India last month, was allegedly murdered by his brother and dumped in a canal.

Sunil Sharma, 66, was preparing for retirement and had been in the city of Amritsar in Punjab province in the country's north-west, readying an investment property for sale when he disappeared on May 22.

On Saturday local time, Amritsar police gave a press conference after arresting Sunil Sharma's brother Satish Sharma. They allege he gave his brother a drink spiked with sleeping pills and then murdered him with blows to the head with a baseball bat.

Senior Superintendent of Police Kanwalpreet Singh alleged Satish Sharma's wife and son assisted in removing a blood-stained mattress and the baseball bat.

He said the trio dumped the body in a canal and a police search was underway to recover the body.

Sunil Sharma's daughter Surbhi Sharma told the ABC on Saturday night authorities had informed her that her uncle had been arrested by police and had confessed to murdering his brother and dumping his body in a river.

Police had been searching for Mr Sharma's brother, who was seen at the property around the time his brother went missing.

She said she had been told a major search was underway to recover her father's body.

In a statement, Ms Sharma paid tribute to her "intelligent, strong and funny" father, who she described as "loving and sensitive" with a "good heart".

"My dad was always there for us and sometimes even a little too much," she said.

"But I count myself so lucky to have had a father like him who taught me everything I know about life today."

Ms Sharma also said she had been touched by tributes from the Diamond Valley College community, where her father had been a teacher.

"He would've loved to see everyone recognise him and it warms my heart to read and know he gave the gift of education to hundreds of students over the course of his life," she said.