Search on for missing Bengaluru trekker in Himachal Pradesh

The trekker, fondly known as Sathya among his friends and family, has been missing for the past one month.
Sathyanarayan Venkatachari
Sathyanarayan Venkatachari

BENGALURU: The Kinnaur district administration has begun a massive search to trace Bengaluru- based trekker Satyanarayan Venkatachari, who has gone missing from Himachal Pradesh. District Superintendent of Police Sakshi Verma told The New Indian Express that a 14-member team along with Indo-Tibetan Border Police and few local trekkers has been sent for the search operation.

The trekker, fondly known as Sathya among his friends and family, has been missing for the past one month.

“We have got reports from some villagers that he was last seen at a village near Surcho and few villages beyond that. We have also sought help from local trekkers and ITB police,” Sakshi Verma said.
Sathya was to join another trekker friend Vikram Mallik of Gurugram at Manali on August 2. “He was supposed to meet me for an expedition. We had planned to undertake a trekking trail to Pangi in Chamaba. We tried reaching him. We couldn’t establish any contact and also learnt from his family that he had called them last on July 25, the same day he had called me. After this we began to look for him,” said his friend Vikram Mallik.

Sathya’s wife Anuradha and family friend Kishore Reddy are at Kinnaur district headquarters Rekong Peo to seek help from the local authorities there. “Last call was made to me around 8am on July 25 and since then we have lost touch and nothing is known about him,” his wife Anuradha said.

Sathya, an employee at US-based multinational company Texas Instruments in Bengaluru had taken a break for this trek and was supposed to return to Bengaluru on August 22. Hence, the family, which is used to Sathya travelling on solo treks was waiting for his return but also looking for some information about him through their networks. When no communication was established, they lodged an official online complaint to the SP Kinnaur on August 24.

Sathya is a seasoned solo trekker and used to trek at least five to six times a year, his friend Vikram said. Several trekking clubs from the city and Himalayan trekking and mountaineering groups have been posting pictures of him along with the missing news to help their best to trace him.

Speculating the route, which Satya might have taken, Vikram said he could have headed towards other trekking routes in Kinnaur district as he still had one week’s time to meet me. “Satya is a very well known trekker and we have sought help from trekking fraternity through social media and word of mouth,” Mallik said.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com