Bengaluru: Bodies of the nine Karnataka trekkers who lost their lives in Uttarakhand due to extreme weather conditions are likely to be flown to Bengaluru on Thursday, officials said.

A 22-member trekking team was sent by Himalayan View Trekking Agency, Maneri, on May 29 on a 35-km long trek from Uttarkashi.

The team constituted 18 trekkers from Karnataka and one from Maharashtra, besides three local guides, they said.

Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda who is in Dehradun met Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Radha Raturi and Secretary of Disaster Management Ranjit Sinha today and thanked them for their swift response during this calamity.

In a statement released by his office, the Minister said he requested their help to arrange an aircraft to transport the bodies to Bengaluru and they have agreed to do so.

ALSO READ: Nine trekkers from Karnataka die in Uttarakhand due to extreme weather conditions

"All nine bodies will likely reach Dehradun around noon. After embalming in a local hospital, we are planning to airlift all the bodies to Bengaluru today itself," he said.

According to Gowda, eight trekkers, including women were rescued and shifted to Dehradun on Wednesday while five more rescued trekkers will be airlifted from Uttarkashi to Dehradun today

"Yesterday (Wednesday), bodies of five trekkers were airlifted to Uttarkashi and in an early morning operation today, four more bodies were recovered and airlifted to Uttarkashi," he said.

Post-mortem is underway at a hospital in Uttarkashi. Then, all nine bodies will be airlifted to Dehradun. Embalming will be done in Dehradun, he said.

After the incident came to light on Wednesday, Gowda flew to Dehradun to monitor and coordinate the rescue operation.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday instructed officials concerned to take necessary action for the safe rescue of trekkers and to bring the bodies of the deceased to the state immediately.

According to the Revenue Minister, a team of trekkers from Karnataka started their trek on Tuesday morning in the highaltitude area of Shastratal Mayali in Uttarakhand. After reaching the destination, the team tried to return to the camp again. However, on the way back, the weather turned completely bad at 2 pm due to a blizzard and they were stranded.

"As soon as we came to know the matter, the Uttarakhand government, Mountaineering Federation of India and the Home Department of the Central Government were contacted through the district administration. With their help, the rescue operation was carried out," he had said.

According to Gowda, emergency rescue operations started on Tuesday evening with the help of locally available helicopters. Also, an Indian Air Force helicopter reached Uttarkashi at 9 am on Wednesday to rescue the trekkers and a disaster management team started moving towards the camp by land route this morning.

On Wednesday evening, a statement released by the Chief Minister's Office said bodies of those who had gone on a trek to Shastratal Mayali in Uttarakhand and died due to inclement weather would be handed over to their families and the rest of the trekkers who were rescued would be brought safely to the state.

"All those rescued should be safely brought home without any disturbance. Instructions have been given to Minister Krishna Byre Gowda that all the necessary procedures should be carried out immediately in order to hand over the bodies to the families," the Chief Minister was quoted as saying in the statement.

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Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.

The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.

Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.

"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.

Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.

“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.

Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.

"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.

The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.

Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.

"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.

The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.

Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.