Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Wednesday handed over the case of the suspicious disappearance of two girl students to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), as there has been no trace of them for about three months.
The case was reported at the Vidyaranyapura police station in Bengaluru, after the students went missing on January 31.
Both girls left home with their Aadhaar cards. The probe revealed that they carried the cards to avail free travel service in RTC buses in Karnataka. The missing students have been identified as 19-year-old Thaniska R. and her friend, 17-year-old Tejasvini. They went missing from MS Palya in Yelahanka Layout after they went to college, but never returned home.
Police have obtained CCTV footage showing the two girls walking in a public place, but have not been able to trace their whereabouts.
The police have appealed to the public to provide any information about them, stating that both girls are together. Thanishka is studying in II PUC (Class 12), whereas Tejasvini is an I PUC (Class 11) student.
The parents of the two girls had filed a habeas corpus petition before the High Court, urging the state government to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The case has now been transferred to the CID.
Police said the case has become a major challenge for the Bengaluru Police. The Vidyaranyapura police had formed a 10-member special team to trace the missing girls. The team has travelled to Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Varanasi, Chamarajanagar, parts of West Bengal and Mysuru. Another team has been stationed in Kerala to gather information.
According to police, the investigation has turned complex as the girls are not using mobile phones or ATM cards. They have not contacted their parents or any of their friends. At one stage, police received information that they were roaming in the Mahadeshwara Hills in Chamarajanagar district, which borders Tamil Nadu and Kerala. However, by the time police reached the spot, they had disappeared.
A few days after going missing, the two students reportedly contacted some of their friends, claiming they were at Male Mahadeshwara Hills. They told their friends that they would call again in a week. However, there has been no communication from them since then.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the girls had carried only Rs 3,000 before going missing. Police believe the girls are still absconding, as no unidentified bodies matching their description have been found. Initially, parents and police suspected that they may have gone missing due to fear of examinations.
With no breakthrough in the case, the families had approached the Karnataka High Court by filing a habeas corpus petition. The court has reportedly granted the police one week to trace the missing students.
The families remain distraught and continue to appeal for any information that could help locate the girls.
Meanwhile, police have intensified their efforts and are exploring all possible dimensions of the probe, including seeking assistance from transport authorities and analysing CCTV footage.
(IANS)
