An intense six-day search for Advait Upadhyay in the Shivagange hills has been put on hold, as the Bengaluru-based techie could not be found. Upadhyay has been untraceable since the August 7, when he allegedly went trekking through the Shivagange hills.
For the past six days, nearly 100 personnel, including those from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Forest Department and Dabaspet police, have been searching the hills for the 31-year-old.
Even Karnataka’s ‘Monkey Man’ Jyoti Raj had joined the rescue operation due to the challenging terrain, with rough slopes, persistent rain and hard rocks.
Raj had searched Shantala Drop, a dangerous slope with dense vegetation, where Upadhyay’s body was suspected to be. Raj told local media that there is no sign of the man and that Upadhyay may not even be in the Shivagange Hills.
Police are now focusing on technical evidence and Upadhyay’s digital footprint to continue the investigation. Officials have now revealed that the last location of his phone was in Kudur. A search is being conducted in the remote area.
The Kadugodi police are investigating Advait’s background and the circumstances of his disappearance, based on an FIR filed at the station by his fiancée.
According to reports, Upadhyay had hired a motorcycle and reached the hill around 6:30 am on August 7. CCTV footage shows him arriving at the location and starting the hike. He was expected to return by afternoon.
The youngster’s online searches revealed that he was gathering information about how long it would take for a person to die after falling from Shivagange Hill, which led the police to suspect suicide. However, he left his search history intact, which raised suspicion among investigators, considering that Advait is quite technically savvy.
Upadhyay, an IIT graduate, is a native of Indore in Madhya Pradesh and was residing in Whitefield, Bengaluru. He was reportedly scheduled to get married soon.
