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Vanishing act with no digital footprint: PU students missing for a month, HC orders Bengaluru police to find them in a week
A few days after they went missing, the girls allegedly contacted their friends, claiming to be at Male Mahadeshwara Hills. They promised to contact their friends again in a week, but there has been no further communication.
Two pre-university girl students from Vidyaranyapura in north Bengaluru have been missing for more than a month, posing a challenge for the police and prompting their families to approach the Karnataka High Court seeking directions to trace them.
The police said the PU students, one in second year and the other in first, left their homes on January 31. Their families filed a complaint at the Vidyaranyapura and Yelahanka New Town police stations the following day after they failed to return.
According to sources, the girls left their mobile phones at home and did not carry cash or ATM cards. However, they were believed to have taken their Aadhaar cards and college bags before leaving. Investigators suspect they may have used their Aadhaar cards to travel on free bus services available for students. The police said searches have been carried out at more than 50 locations, but the students have not been traced so far.
Exam fear suspected
Family members suspect that fear of upcoming examinations may have prompted the girls to leave home. One of them had allegedly injured her hand last year in an attempt to avoid exams. With examinations approaching again this year, the police believe she may have left home along with her junior friend.
A girl’s father told the media that she had not expressed her exam fear to her parents but had confided in friends. Those friends later informed the police during questioning.
A few days after they went missing, the girls reportedly contacted some friends and said they were at Male Mahadeshwara Hills. They told their friends they would call again in a week, but there has been no further communication.
Habeas corpus petition before Karnataka High Court
With no breakthrough in the investigation, the families filed a habeas corpus petition before the High Court. The court has reportedly granted the police a week’s time to trace the missing students.
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The police said efforts to locate the girls have been intensified and that multiple angles are being examined, including assistance from transport authorities and analysis of CCTV footage. Meanwhile, the families have appealed for any information that could help trace the students.
According to the FIR, the mother of the second-year PU student at Government First Grade College in Yelahanka usually drops her off at M S Palya Circle to board a bus to college before leaving for work.
On January 31, at around 8.35 am, her mother dropped her off at the bus stop as usual. As it was a Saturday, she was expected to return home by 2.30 pm. When she did not return even by 4.30 pm, her father contacted her class teacher and was informed that she had not attended college that day.
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