Bengaluru Techie, Months Away From Wedding, Missing On Solo Trek

A 31-year-old software professional has gone missing during a solo trek to Shivagange Hill on the outskirts of Bengaluru, with police and multiple rescue agencies continuing an intensive search across the hill's rocky and densely vegetated terrain.Advait Upadhyay, a native of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, works with a finance firm in Whitefield and lives in the Kadugodi area. Police said he rented a motorcycle on Friday and travelled to Shivagange after informing his fianc e about his trekking plans.CCTV footage from the foothills showed Upadhyay arriving at the location and beginning his ascent at around 7.30 am. He was expected to return by the afternoon. However, he did not return and could not be contacted.His fianc e approached the Kadugodi police later that evening and lodged a missing person complaint. The police subsequently alerted personnel in the Nelamangala and Dobbaspet areas, following which a search operation was launched.Upadhyay's motorcycle was found parked at the foothills. Police said this indicated that he had not left the area on the vehicle.Investigators are also examining the last known location of his mobile phone. According to police, the phone was switched off after its last signal was recorded near Kuduru on the Kunigal Road, a location that does not correspond with the usual trekking route.A major focus of the search is the Shantala Drop, one of the most dangerous sections of Shivagange, where steep cliffs and rocky surfaces make access extremely difficult.During drone-assisted searches, personnel reportedly noticed an object resembling a human body amid dense vegetation below the Shantala Drop. However, the location is difficult to access, and teams are yet to establish whether the object is connected to the missing techie.Nearly 100 personnel from the police, NDRF, SDRF and forest department are now involved in the search. High-resolution drones are being used to scan areas that are difficult or dangerous for rescuers to reach on foot, while ground teams are covering rocky outcrops, bushes, drops and sections away from the established trekking trail.Investigators are also examining information recovered from Upadhyay's laptop at his residence. Police sources said searches relating to Shivagange Hill, its terrain and the Shantala Drop were found in his browsing history. A search related to suicide locations near Bengaluru was found in his browsing history, leading police to probe a suicide angle in the case, with a close friend also suggesting Upadhyay behaved irrationally in the last few daysWhile these findings have raised questions, police have not drawn any conclusions and are examining all possible angles into his disappearance.Upadhyay is an IIT alumnus with a master's degree in cybersecurity and is the son of an Indore-based businessman. He was engaged to be married in January.With continuous rain adding to the difficulty of the operation, rescue personnel are carefully combing the hill in search of any concrete clue that could establish Upadhyay's whereabouts.Authorities are yet to determine whether he is stranded somewhere on the hill, met with an accident in an inaccessible area, or left the trekking route for another reason.