Dehradun:
A massive search operation is underway for a 24-year-old MBA student who went missing during a trek to Dayara Bugyal in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi six days ago, with officials detaining her two friends for questioning following a complaint by her family.
Babita Pandey, a resident of Nainital, had gone to Uttarkashi with her two friends, Harmanpal Singh of Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar and Harmanpreet Singh of Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur.
They visited Dehradun on May 25 and later went to Harsil, Gangotri, and nearby tourist spots, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Kamlesh Upadhyay told reporters on Wednesday.
They were last seen on CCTV cameras in Raithal village on May 28. A day later, they started their trek from Raithal to Dayara Bugyal — one of the popular treks in Uttarakhand — and stayed the night at Goi base camp. Around midnight, Pandey went missing from the camp, Upadhyay said.
Since then, a 150-member team comprising personnel from the army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force, police, the forest department, and disaster management is involved in search operations.
They are also using sniffer dogs and drone surveillance across a five-kilometre radius of the dense forest, trekking routes, and caves to find Pandey.
A six-member diving team is also searching a lake near the Goi camp site.
The police have also issued her picture on social media platforms and asked the public to help find her.
Anyone who knows anything about her has been asked to contact the following police helpline numbers: 01374-222116, 9411112863, or 8193990347, or they can reach out to her family members at 7465949032.
Trekking Agency’s Registration Suspended
The registration of the trekking agency, Pro Mountain, has also been suspended after it was found that Pandey and her friends were sent on the trek using a fake permit.
Trekking guides and individuals associated with the agency were also being questioned.
Uttarkashi District Tourism Officer KK Joshi said that enquiries revealed no valid digital permits had been issued for Pandey or her companions on the official tourism portal, ‘Explore Uttarkashi’.
The investigation showed that the trekking agency bypassed government revenue regulations and the daily limit of 150 trekkers by pasting the names of Pandey and her friends onto an expired physical permit.
When the QR code was scanned at the checkpost, it retrieved data belonging to previous trekkers. Joshi said the forgery initially delayed rescue teams from identifying the trekkers and their handling agency.
The police are also investigating the personal dispute angle or any other suspicious activity.
