Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka): In a tragic development, 14-year-old Srinanda from Kerala, who had gone missing while trekking with her parents in the mountain ranges of Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, was found dead in a mountain gorge on Friday.
Authorities, who had been conducting a search operation for three days, spotted her body 2,000 feet below the spot from where she had gone missing.
According to the police, Srinanda, a native of Palakkad in Kerala, went missing from the Chandradrona mountain range. She disappeared at around 6 p.m. on April 7 while she was part of a 40-member group. She was last seen in the Manikyadhara region of the mountain. Despite extensive efforts by her parents to locate her, they were unable to trace her.
The Anti-Naxal Force (ANF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police teams, Fire and Emergency Services personnel, and Forest Department officials jointly launched a search operation in the area. Authorities used drones and thermal cameras, considering the steep terrain and dangerous slopes of the mountain.
Authorities are probing all angles and verifying whether she slipped from the height of the mountain or if there is any other reason behind the incident.
Commenting on the suspicious disappearance of the minor girl from Kerala in Chikkamagaluru, Home Minister G. Parameshwara, earlier in the day, stated, before the recovery of the body, that he had taken preliminary information about the case. “One argument is that the girl was kidnapped, while another suggests that she may have gone away with someone. Such opinions are being expressed, but the truth will be known once she is traced,” he said.
According to preliminary information, the victim had come to Karnataka with her family on a trip. They had visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site Hampi in the North Karnataka region and arrived in Chikkamagaluru city at 3 p.m. on April 7. They then travelled in private jeeps to the Inam Dattatreya Bababudangiri shrine and the Manikyadhara mountain region. The minor girl went missing near a waterfall in the Manikyadhara area.
Although authorities launched the search operation immediately and used modern equipment such as thermal cameras and drones, no clues were found initially, which raised suspicions. Officials were preparing to launch a combing operation across the entire mountain range. A police team from Kerala also arrived following the incident.
Police have collected the mobile phones of the victim’s parents and are investigating the case from all angles. Except for the parents, all other tourists from Kerala have returned home. A team from Chikkamagaluru has also travelled to Kerala. Further investigation is underway.
More details are yet to emerge.
It can be recalled that the Kerala-origin trekker, Sharanya, who was lost in Madikeri Forest for several days, was rescued by authorities in Karnataka last week. She had disappeared from the Tadiyandamol forest in Madikeri district.
(IANS)
