More than two weeks after Advait Upadhyay went missing during a solo trek at Shivagange Hill on the outskirts of Bengaluru, the police have ruled out the possibility that he died by suicide. They now suspect that the software professional may be alive and deliberately misled those searching for him.
Upadhyay, 31, who works at a finance firm in Bengaluru’s Whitefield and lives in Kadugodi, went missing on August 7 after setting out on a solo trek to Shivagange Hill.
He had taken a rented motorcycle and, after parking it, began his ascent. CCTV footage captured him entering the trekking area. Before beginning the climb at around 7.30 am, Upadhyay called his fiancée, Prapti Chauhan, and told her he would return by afternoon.
He never returned and his phone became unreachable. Chauhan subsequently approached the Kadugodi police and filed a missing-person complaint.
The Bengaluru Rural police initially believed Upadhyay may have died by suicide during his trek after investigators found searches on his laptop for locations from where people had died by suicide.
“There was very little chance for him to go missing from the trekking area. To add to it, while checking his laptop, it was discovered that he checked for places where people often died by suicide at Shivagange hill,” a police officer said.
The search initially focused on Shantala Drop, one of the steepest and most difficult-to-access sections of Shivagange. The spot is around 1,300 metres above sea level and was considered a possible location from where Upadhyay could have fallen.
But despite an extensive search, investigators found no body or belongings.
About three days after the search began, the police deployed drones. Around 50 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services, and local residents were involved in the operation.
Jyothi Raju, popularly known as ‘Monkey Man’, who has carried out rescue operations by scaling steep rock faces, also joined the search. Raju spent four days searching the difficult sections of the hill using safety ropes.
He said he found no evidence that Upadhyay had fallen from the hill.
“If he had died by suicide, I should have got his body. Even if some animal had taken away his body, at least some of the materials he was wearing should have been found. He was also wearing a bag, a jacket, and shoes. It appears like he may have diverted people’s attention. I have done an extensive search and he has not fallen from here,” Raju said.
Chandrakanth M V, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru Rural, said they had also examined Upadhyay’s digital records. According to him, Upadhyay had taken photographs and a video from the top of the hill and sent them to someone.
“His mobile phone’s last location was at Kudur in Ramanagara district. We don’t know how the mobile phone reached the place,” Chandrakanth said.
The SP said they also carried out a search operation in Kudur, a forested area, but did not find him.
The police also searched the Shantala Drop area extensively. Chandrakanth said that had Upadhyay fallen from the location, investigators would have expected to find some evidence by now.
The search for Upadhyay has now been called off.
With the physical search yielding no trace of Upadhyay, the Kadugodi police have shifted their focus to the technical investigation. The police have taken his laptop into custody and are examining his digital records and other details.
A senior police officer said a preliminary investigation had raised questions about Upadhyay’s upcoming marriage. According to the officer, family members told investigators that Upadhyay had expressed unhappiness to his mother about the marriage arranged by them.
The police are also examining digital evidence suggesting that he may have been in contact with another woman.
“We suspect that he deliberately misled his family members and was aware of possible search operations. We believe that he is alive as we speak,” the police officer said.
Upadhyay is an IIT Kanpur graduate and the son of an Indore businessman. He was scheduled to marry Chauhan in January.
While Chauhan declined to respond to questions, his family members could not be reached for comment.
The police said they are now monitoring his bank accounts, UPI transactions, social media activity, and other devices for any activity since August 7.
The case is not without precedent. Earlier this year, 36-year-old software professional G S Sharanya from Kerala went missing during a solo trek to Tadiandamol Peak in Karnataka’s Kodagu district on April 2.
She survived for three days in the dense forest, relying on stream water, before rescuers found her near an abandoned forest temple on April 5.
