BENGALURU: A 31-year-old software professional who went trekking at Karnataka's Shivagange Hills has been missing for the past two days, prompting the forest department, police and SDRF to launch a search operation.
The teams are searching for Advaith Upadhyey, a resident of Mythri Layout in Bengaluru, who hails from Indore and has been working in the city for the past four years.
On Sunday evening, with the help of drone cameras, the teams found his shoulder bag and sweater at Shanatala point, a suicide point, a prohibited location at Shivagange hills. All the search teams have now been shifted to the surrounding areas to search for any signs of Upadhyey.
According to preliminary information with the police and the forest department, Upadhyey had reached the base of Shivagange hill at 6.45 am on Friday. The CCTV footage in the area also confirmed his arrival. However, the footage did not show him leaving the location on Friday or Saturday.
“Investigation showed that he had made a video call to his fiancée from Valkala teertha point, a location where there is a signal, en route the hill top at around 8.30 am. He had also shared a photo of the location. His phone was not traceable since 1 pm, and from 5 pm his phone was reported to have been switched off,” said an investigating official from the forest department.
The police officials said a missing complaint was registered by his fiancée in Kadugodi police station on Friday evening, and a search for him at Shivagange hills was launched Saturday morning.
Multiple teams were formed to search different locations, but no sign of him was found till Sunday evening. The parked bike confirmed that he had come to Shivagange hills.
The teams are probing multiple possibilities, including that he may have slipped and fallen on the rocky granite terrain while trekking on Friday amid rain. Another possibility is that he visited the Eshwara Temple at Shivagange Hills, which is under the Muzrai Department, and ventured into a restricted area, including Shanatala Point, where he may have slipped and fallen. Police are also examining the possibility that he may have died by suicide after jumping from Shanatala Point.
A senior police official said that nothing could be confirmed yet and that all angles were being investigated. “A missing complaint has been registered, and the FIR also says so. That is what is being investigated,” the police official said.
Forest department officials said the temple and the deemed forest patch share a common survey number. However, there are no restrictions in the area under the control of the Muzrai Department.
Beat foresters are deployed to patrol the area and are also being questioned as part of the search. There are no restrictions on entry or exit, and the location does not have a ticketing system.
Rail barricades have been erected at strategic points around the hill and at the hilltop to mark sensitive areas and caution visitors against venturing into them. However, people sometimes jump over the barricades.
The official added that it would be difficult for someone to go missing from the area as several villages surround the hill, with sufficient light to guide people towards the villages if they need help. Locals are also being questioned for information about Upadhyey.
