On August 23, Surat Police was informed by a passerby about the body of a woman found hanging from a pipeline near a creek bridge in Gabheni area. The department put up posts on social media and published advertisements in newspapers to identify the body. A week later, on August 30, a man contacted the police: The body belonged to his wife who had left home after a fight.Another week later, on August 7, the man once again turned up at the police station. This time, with a chilling revelation: His wife had taken their three minor children, including a month-old infant, along with her.For the last two days, over a 100 police personnel, fire department officials, two drone flyers, and several people in Surat have been busy looking for the three children.The police suspect that the woman, Zaibunnisha, may have thrown her three children into the creek before hanging herself. What is making the search for the children tougher is the rain situation in the city, causing the creeks to overflow, officers said.Also Read | Student found dead, another injured inside hostel room of Greater Noida collegeAs per details received from Sachin GIDC police, Zaibunnisha, a resident of Surat’s Palsana area and a native of Bihar, left her home with her three minor children – Ayesha Parveen (5), Tahir Alam (3) and Sarfaraz (1 month) – after an altercation with her husband on August 22. After making a call to her husband in the evening, informing him that they were near the Gabheni creek bridge, she went unreachable, said police.The next day, police were informed about a body found hanging near the creek following which it was taken to New Civil Hospital (NCH) for post-mortem examination.Police sources said that on August 30, a man called Mehboob Alam turned up at Sachin GIDC police station and informed the personnel that his wife was missing. The personnel took him to NCH where he identified the body found on August 23 as that of his wife.Story continues below this adOn September 7, Alam once again went to the Sachin GIDC police station and told police about his three missing children. Police lodged a kidnapping complaint and started a probe.So far, police personnel from different branches have carried out an extensive search operation — from nearby bushes and residential places to far-flung areas – to find the missing children.Fire department officials have also carried out a search operation with the help of boats while two drones were also deployed. However, no breakthrough could be achieved until Tuesday evening.Also Read | Warning bells Nepal’s PM Oli ignored: Graft charges, weaponisation of agenciesSachin GIDC police inspector Kuldeepsinh Gohil said, “Alam should have informed the local police when his wife left home. He approached police on August 30 to identify the body of his wife. He did not even disclose anything about his three children until two days ago.”Story continues below this adOn why Alam took a week to inform the police about his wife’s disappearance, Gohil said that the man told them that it was routine for the couple to fight and the woman to vanish for weeks at end. It was only when Alam saw the advertisements that he suspected that something was amiss, he added.On why the police believe it to be a case of suicide, instead of kidnapping-murder, Gohil said, “We have checked CCTV cameras and spotted the woman walking on the roads in Sachin GIDC area with her three children.”On the possible state of the missing children, he said, “There are two probabilities: she may have left her children at somebody’s house or she could have thrown them into the creek. There is a heavy flow of water in the creek and the bodies might have been swept away. The creek flows into the sea. We have also informed the police in Navsari about the three missing minors.”He further said, “We have checked the coastal area of the creek, but nothing has been found. We have also talked to the local fishermen community and cattle rearers. Finally, we had to use drones to search for these children. The search operation is still going on.”Story continues below this adPolice said Alam has not been able to give them a clear answer on why he did not inform them about his missing children earlier.Meanwhile, Zaibunnisha’s body has been handed over to her brother who arrived from Kerala, where he works, on Monday.