A 31-year-old IT professional has been missing since Friday, August 7, the day he set out on a solo trek up Shivagange Hill in Bengaluru Rural. A police team engaged in search operations found his motorcycle at the foothills.
Advait Upadhyay, an IIT alumnus with a master's degree in cybersecurity, had travelled to Shivagange from Bengaluru on Friday morning. He had been working in the city for several years and was scheduled to get married in January.
Advait had rented a motorcycle from Whitefield about five days before his disappearance. CCTV footage recorded at the foothills shows him arriving on the bike and beginning the trek at around 7.30 am. He had also told his fiancee, Prapti Chauhan, about his plans shortly before leaving.
However, there is no CCTV footage showing him returning from the hill. His phone was switched off soon after he began the trek. Prapti filed a missing person complaint at the Kadugodi police station later that evening.
According to media reports, the last known location of his mobile phone was traced to an area that does not fall along the trekking route. This has added another element of uncertainty to the search, as teams have been unable to establish whether he followed the usual trekking path.
Shivagange is around 50 km from Bengaluru and rises to 4,488 feet above sea level. The hill is a popular trekking destination, but parts of the route are difficult to navigate, with steep sections, narrow rock-cut steps, cliffs and dense vegetation.
After the missing person complaint was filed, police teams from Dobbaspet and Nelamangala were alerted and began searching the hill. Personnel have been scouring the rocky terrain and forested stretches, with particular attention being paid to hazardous locations such as Shantala Drop, a steep cliff section near the top.
The search has been complicated by heavy rain in the area. Teams had to suspend operations on Saturday, while difficult weather and terrain also affected the operation on Sunday.
Authorities have since expanded the search operation by bringing in specialised equipment. High-resolution drones are being used to scan stretches that are difficult to reach on foot, while specialised metal detectors sourced from the Bengaluru police commissionerate have also been deployed.
A 15-member State Disaster Response Force team has joined the operation. Search teams have divided the hill into key zones and are examining areas around steep drops, rock faces and other potentially hazardous stretches.
Police and rescue personnel have continued searching while Advait's family members remain at the site.