Missing Karwar Deputy SP found in Sankasala forests
KARWAR: Karwar DySP Shankar Marihal and another officer, who went missing on Sunday late evening in the thick forests of Western Ghats near Baare village of Yellapur taluk, were found on Monday morning after a massive search operation by nearly 100 people’s team including police, forest and locals.
As part of their regular combing operation, six police including Karwar DySP, Ankola CPI and PSI, five locals, four forest staffs and five other department officials entered the forest from Yellapur on Sunday morning around 9.30 am. All officials trekked for several kilometres in the forest area in different teams and kept regrouping.
Around 6.30 pm, when the teams were about to end the combing operation, DySP and a colleague were chased by a leopard, forcing them to flee further in to the forest area. The duo was lost in the forest as they couldn't find their way back.
“Both of them were not back by 6.30 pm, and we others tried to contact them through wireless which was not clear due to heavy rainfall and the sound of a flowing stream. Later the police came to know that both og them are safe and are standing on the bank of a stream. The two officials did not have GPS, therefore it was a little tough to identify their location,” a senior police officer said,
Uttara Kannada SP Shiva Prakash Devaraju, additional SP Gopal Byakod and other officials had launched the search operation on Sunday night. The rescue team had about 100 people including police and forest department personnel, along with members of other departments and local volunteers.
“We knew they were safe but could not find their location. We kept on searching throughout the night checked 4-5 streams. Finally, on Monday morning around 6 am, we got a call from them confirming their location and within two and a half hour, three teams traced both officials near the Sunkasala forest of Mastikatta range and took them back to Kaiga in a car. A medical examination has confirmed that both of them are fit and fine,” SP Shiva Prakash Devaraju said,
The police and other officials had launched combing operation following information about a satellite phone call made from the forest area near Kaiga Atomic Power Station. However, SP Devaraju clarified no such calls were made and it was a regular combing exercise which is part of their duty to dominate the area.