Jalandhar (Punjab), Aug 6 (IANS) The authorities of a private school here have lodged a police complaint that two of its students, who went on an educational trip to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at its US headquarters, have gone “missing”. The two students, Paramjit Singh and Kunal Bhandari, went as part of a 13-member delegation of the Dayanand Model School July 22. While the other members returned, these two students did not come back.

The school authorities informed the police that both the students disappeared during the initial days of the trip. School principal R.K. Sehgal and another teacher accompanied the team.

The school authorities now claim that both students went on the trip with a “well thought out plan” to disappear after landing in the US.

“This incident has tarnished the image of our school,” Sehgal said.

The disappearance of the school students in a foreign country comes close on the heels of 34 Indian youth, mostly from Punjab, going missing in New Zealand last month while on a Christian religious tour.

The Doaba belt - the land in Punjab between rivers Sutlej and Beas comprising Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts - is known for its expatriate community and willingness of people to settle abroad through legal and illegal means.

The maximum number of NRIs in countries like the US, Canada, Australia and other countries are from this area.