Disaster response force deployed to trace missing trekker at Shivagange
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has joined the police operation to locate a 32-year-old trekker who went missing on Friday (August 7) near Dobbspet in Nelamangala. However, the teams are finding it difficult to conduct the search due to constant rain, said a police offic
Published - August 09, 2026 10:50 pm IST - Bengaluru
Advaith Upadhyaya, a private company employee residing in Mythri Layout in East Bengaluru, went trekking early on Friday on a rental bike and climbed Shivagange Hill. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has joined the police operation to locate a 32-year-old trekker who went missing on Friday (August 7) near Dobbspet in Nelamangala. However, the teams are finding it difficult to conduct the search due to constant rain, said a police officer.
Advaith Upadhyaya, a private company employee residing in Mythri Layout in East Bengaluru, went trekking early on Friday on a rental bike and climbed Shivagange Hill.
An investigator involved in the operation told The Hindu that they had found CCTV footage of Mr. Upadhyaya parking the scooter, climbing the hill and also being at the top of the hill, but they had not found any footage of him climbing down.
“We are exploring two angles, an accident or a case of attention diversion. We haven’t ruled out any angles yet,” the officer said. Two police teams from Kadugodi, along with several teams from the Nelamangala and Dobbspet police stations, are involved in the search operation.
According to officials, the relentless rain has made it difficult to even establish his final movements and ascertain what might have happened to him. However, teams have been deployed at Shanthala Drop, where the last CCTV footage showed him.
When the mobile network was traced, his last location was found to be near the Kudur Road deviation near Dobbspet. As his mobile phone remains switched off, the police have not ruled out the possibility of attention diversion and have deployed teams in the areas surrounding the hill to check whether Mr. Upadhyaya appears in any CCTV footage.
According to the police, Mr. Upadhyaya, who hails from Indore, had gotten engaged to a woman a few months ago. After multiple phone calls to him went unanswered, his fiancé reached out to the Kadugodi police station, which then informed the Dobbspet police station and sent special teams to locate the missing person. The officer said the search operation would continue.
Published - August 09, 2026 10:50 pm IST
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