DEHRADUN: A Haryana Nihang devotee who had reportedly been missing from his home for the past three years has disappeared again after entering Uttarakhand’s Valley of Flowers National Park, triggering an intensive search operation.
Three days after he was reported missing inside the UNESCO World Heritage site, there was still no trace of him.
The missing man has been identified as Gabbar Singh, a Nihang from Haryana. Teams from the Forest Department and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are jointly searching the rugged terrain of the national park in Chamoli district, but officials said no clue had been found till late Thursday evening.
The incident has added to growing concerns over safety in Uttarakhand’s adventure tourism and trekking zones. It is the third case in the past fortnight in which trekkers or visitors have gone missing in remote Himalayan areas.
According to officials, Singh entered the Valley of Flowers on Tuesday after recording his details in the entry register at the main gate. He then proceeded along the trekking route inside the park. When he failed to return to the base camp by evening, forest officials raised an alarm.
Considering the difficult terrain and the possibility of injury, disorientation or bad weather, Forest Department and SDRF teams launched a search operation that continued late into the night.
Rescue personnel covered difficult stretches and possible diversion points along the trail, but returned without success.
The search resumed early on Wednesday, with teams scanning the valley and adjoining areas. Officials said the operation was being carried out “on a war footing”, with every possible location being checked where the missing devotee may have strayed or taken shelter.
However, the case took a puzzling turn when forest officials began verifying the details entered by Singh at the park gate.
“The mobile number provided by the visitor at the entry gate turned out to be incorrect. When we called the number, the person who answered made a startling claim that Gabbar Singh had gone missing from his home three years ago,” Chetna Kandpal, Forest Range Officer of the Valley of Flowers, told this newspaper.
Kandpal said the department then verified the Aadhaar details recorded in the register.
“Through further verification, it was officially confirmed that Gabbar Singh, a resident of Haryana, had indeed been missing for the past three years,” she said.
Officials now believe that Singh, who had reportedly disappeared from Haryana three years ago, resurfaced at the Valley of Flowers on Tuesday, completed the formal entry process and then went missing again after entering the trekking zone.
Rescue teams are continuing efforts to reconstruct his movements while carrying out searches across the park’s difficult and weather sensitive terrain.
“Till late Thursday evening, there was still no information about the missing Nihang,” Kandpal said. “The search is continuing with full alertness.”