GORAKHPUR, March 14 -- The disappearance of a gang-rape survivor along with her sister from the Geeta Vatika area, under the Ramgarh Tal police station limits, since Wednesday, has left police officials red-faced. The two sisters reportedly went missing just days before the survivor was scheduled to record her statement in court (scheduled for the last week of March) in connection with a high-profile gang-rape case linked to a hotel-cum-hookah bar in the city, police said on Friday. Authorities said search operations are underway to trace the missing sisters and ensure their safe recovery, while also ensuring that the legal proceedings in the case continue without obstruction. Following a written complaint filed by the girls' mother, police have registered a case of abduction against unidentified persons and initiated an investigation. Abhinav Tyagi, SP City said, "The two sisters have been reported missing. A case has been registered and multiple police teams are working to locate them. CCTV footage and mobile phone locations are being examined." The victim's mother alleged that the accused in the gang-rape case and their associates had been pressuring the family to strike a compromise. When the family refused, the girls were allegedly lured and abducted. According to family members, the sisters went missing from their residence on Wednesday, and their whereabouts could not be traced despite extensive searches by the family. The survivor was scheduled to record her statement in court in connection with the gang-rape that allegedly occurred. She had accused several individuals of gang-raping her at a hotel-cum-hookah bar in the city, from where she was rescued by the police on January 2, 2025. During the investigation of the case, police had arrested around 18 accused persons, who were subsequently sent to jail. Police officials said they are also probing the possibility that the disappearance of the sisters may be linked to attempts by the accused or their associates to prevent the survivor from testifying in court. On December 31, 2024, the 13-year-old victim was taken by her friends to a hookah bar in front of Geeta Vatika, under the Shahpur police station. There, the bar owner and two of his associates held her captive and gang-raped her. During the investigation, police found that the victim was taken to the hookah bar, where its owner Anirudh Ojha, along with Nikhil Gaur and Aditya Maur, had molested the girl. SP City Tyagi said that based on the girl's statement and medical report, charges of gang-rape were filed against them and they were booked under the Pocso Act on January 10, 2025. Police also raided the hookah bar and found that the men were under the influence of drugs. The girls were rescued, and the investigation revealed that the hookah bar was part of a larger prostitution racket, where girls were lured on the pretext of providing jobs and were then sent to other districts. Eighteen accused were arrested and sent to jail, but were later released on bail....