After a 24-year-old woman from Nainital went missing while on a trek with two friends in the hills of Uttarkashi, an extensive search operation involving multiple agencies was quickly launched, and her companions were detained and questioned. Teams of police, Army and other rescue personnel combed the area along with dog squads, while divers searched the Bhagirathi River and other water bodies.
However, six days later, Babita Pandey has not been found.
She was trekking to Dayara Bugyal, a high-altitude meadow in Uttarkashi district that has become a popular destination for trekkers in Uttarakhand, along with her friends Harmanpal Singh (23) and Harmanpreet Singh (23). Harmanpal, from Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar, and Harmanpreet, from Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur, claim that she stepped out of her tent on the night of May 29 while they were camping and was not seen again.
While police were informed the next night, Pandey’s brother, Harshit, lodged a complaint on May 31, and an FIR was registered against the two men who accompanied her.
Superintendent of Police Kamlesh Upadhyay said police are taking the statements of other trekkers and people who visited the area on the day Pandey went missing.
An extensive search and rescue operation comprising 150 personnel has been underway since Pandey was reported missing. (Special arrangement photo)
“Currently, we are searching and interrogating various people. Her family was not aware of the fact that she was travelling with the duo and has raised allegations. During the interrogation, they said they met in March and have undertaken trips together before as well,” the officer said. She added that the forest teems with wildlife, and they are probing whether Pandey was attacked by animals. “The locals have also been looking for her. The trek opened in 2002, but this is the first time the area has witnessed an incident like this,” the SP said.
The night she went missing
According to police, Pandey and her two companions left from Ramnagar on May 25 and stayed in Dehradun that night before setting off for Harsil the next day. They stayed in Harsil for the next two days and visited Gangotri. On May 28, they were in Raithal, and the day after that, they were camping at Goi base camp in a tent.
An officer said, “That night, when Pandey was listening to music in the tent, the two companions asked her to keep it low, after which she allegedly stepped out. During the interrogation, they said that they fell asleep and, on waking up, they could not find her. They purportedly searched the area, and on failing to find her, they informed her family and friends. Around 8 pm on May 30, police received a call on the emergency response support system regarding the incident.” Police have retraced the group’s steps through CCTV cameras.
In the complaint, the missing woman’s brother, Harshit, said the family travelled from their home to Bhatwari in Uttarkashi in search of her. “There, we learned that my sister had gone to Dayara Bugyal along with her friends. On the night of May 29, due to darkness, she stayed at Goi with her friends. Since then, her whereabouts have been unknown. We suspect that Harmanpal and Harmanpreet may have caused some incident or harm to my sister. Therefore, I request you to kindly register my sister Babita Pandey as missing and take necessary steps to locate her,” the FIR, registered under sections related to kidnapping, quotes the complainant as saying.
Police have not arrested Harmanpal and Harmanpreet, with an officer saying there has been no breakthrough yet from their questioning over the last five days.
Rescue efforts
An extensive search and rescue operation comprising 150 personnel has been underway since Pandey was reported missing. Two drones from the district administration and police, and three canine squads have also been deployed.
The agency that facilitated this trek has come under scrutiny for uploading documents of different people while securing passes for the three trekkers. (Special arrangement photo)
Multiple teams comprising personnel from the police department, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Forest department, Disaster Management quick response team, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and the Army, along with local residents and porters, have been formed and deployed in different directions across the Dayara trekking region. A poster with her details has been published by the Uttarkashi Police, seeking tip-offs to find her.
An officer with the NDRF said the rescuers have deployed a mountain rescue team — a specialised team for high-altitude searches. An officer involved in this said they deployed 10 personnel over an area of 8 km, combing dense forests. “We searched for four days, day and night, overcoming the inclement weather. We have now called off the operations after we reached our limit. We searched the suspected area and could not find the woman. The whole area was divided into six sectors, with teams of 20 officers from the Army, 40 from the ITBP, 10 each from the SDRF and the NDRF, 20 each from the forest and police departments, and five from the district disaster quick response teams. A report has been submitted to the administration after the operations,” said the officer.
On Wednesday, the SDRF deployed deep divers and rafts to search the water bodies and the Bhagirathi River in the area.
Pandey’s phone remains unreachable, with the last tower location being Goi.
Trek agency under scanner
At 12,000 feet above sea level, Dayara Bugyal has emerged as a prominent destination that can be covered over four days of trekking. The treks are undertaken after an agency seeks permission from the district tourism wing. The permits are issued after the agency seeks approval through an online portal, Explore Uttarkashi, run jointly by the Tourism and Forest departments.
The agency that facilitated this trek has come under scrutiny for uploading documents of different people while securing passes for the three trekkers. K K Joshi, the Uttarkashi District Tourism Development Officer, said the agency was registered in the district last year.
“They had taken permission for trekking for five people from May 29 to 31. However, when we scanned the QR codes issued in the permits, the names of three other people popped up. The names of Pandey, Harmanpal Singh and Harmanpreet Singh were edited into the permits, in a case of alleged forgery. It needs to be ascertained how their names were altered. This permission was shown at the checkposts,” he said.
Joshi added that permission is autogenerated after the trekking group’s documents are uploaded by the agency against a payment of Rs 100 per person. A fee is charged at the forest checkpoint on entry. “We have informed the police of these facts, and they will initiate an inquiry into the matter,” he said.
SP Upadhyay said the Tourism department would take action against the agency.
Teams of police, Army and other rescue personnel combed the area along with dog squads, while divers searched the Bhagirathi River and other water bodies. (Special arrangement photo) 
An extensive search and rescue operation comprising 150 personnel has been underway since Pandey was reported missing. (Special arrangement photo)
The agency that facilitated this trek has come under scrutiny for uploading documents of different people while securing passes for the three trekkers. (Special arrangement photo)
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