Techie on trekking expedition in Bannerghatta goes missing

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A software engineer, who was on an illegal trekking expedition in the Bannerghatta forests, went missing on Saturday evening.

A massive manhunt for the missing techie, Satwik Shastri, did not yield result and forest guards and rescue workers had to call off the search on Sunday evening.

Satwik, who works for Sigma in Whitefield, had gone trekking with his two friends Anupam Manur and Ashish San on Saturday afternoon in Bannerghatta National Park.

The trio parked their two-wheelers at Mutturayana Bande on Shivanahalli Road, about 28 km from Bengaluru, and entered Begihalli Beat of the Bannerghatta Wildlife Range around 2.30 pm.

They had neither informed nor taken permission from the forest department before entering the forest.
Anupam, who works for IBM, and Ashish, who is with a business firm, said that after about one-and-a-half hours of trekking, Satwik wanted to attend nature’s call and told his friends, “Carry on, I will catch up with you soon.”

But even after a long time, he did not join them. The two friends got worried and started searching for him in different directions.

During the search, Anupam and Ashish got lost in the forest which has a large number of wild elephants. Anupam traced Ashish from his cell phone torchlight and the two climbed a hill.

From the top, they could see a light in a valley and started moving towards it. They reached Kasavankunte, where they informed villgers, who alerted police.

The police immediately got into action, formed rescue teams and kept the search on till late Saturday night. But they could not trace Satwik. On Sunday morning, the hunt began with three teams of forest trackers.

The two friends have not been able to pinpoint the exact location where Satwik went missing. It rained on Saturday night and makes it difficult for the search party to trace the missing engineer,” said a search team member.

Police and forest officials suspect that the three friends may have been chased by an elephant and Satwik might have been killed.

But Anupam and Ashish did not speak about any wild animal sighting during their illegal trekking expedition. The search will begin again on Monday at 7 am.

Family hopes Satwik will return safe

Parents of Satwik, who were waiting anxiously at the point where their son ventured into the forest with his two friends, feel that their son knows the forest and will come back safely.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Satwik’s younger brother Sachin Shastri said, “Trekking is not new to Satwik. He is a sportman and enjoyed outdoor adventures.

Satwik used to go with his friends often, and had gone trekking to the Himalayas apart from the other popular trekking destinations in Karnataka.

Though he never got lost before, Satwik is a fighter. I am sure he is safe and we will trace him. On Saturday, he came home for lunch around 2 pm and left for the forest with his friends”

.Satwik’s father Mr Dinesh Shastry said, “Around 10:30 pm on Saturday, I was shocked when I received a call from the father of one of the other boys who told me about the incident. Immediately, I rushed to Bannergatta police station to help trace my son.

Before going trekking he did not tell me where he was heading to. I thought he was going with his friends and did not question him further.“When we tried reaching him on his mobile, it was out of reach.

From Sunday morning his phone has been switched off, probably because the battery died. The police and the forest officials have been extensively combing the area.

Though the biggest threat in the forest is elephants, I don’t want to lose hope, because I am sure my son I safe”, he added.