Nine trekkers from Karnataka die in Uttarakhand due to extreme weather conditions
Bengaluru, Jun 5: Nine trekkers from Karnataka lost their lives in Uttarakhand due to extreme weather conditions, officials said on Wednesday.
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, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday instructed the officials concerned to take necessary action for safe rescue of trekkers and to bring the bodies of the deceased to the state immediately.
Earlier in the day, the Principal Secretary in the Revenue Department, Rashmi Mahesh, told PTI that four trekkers from Karnataka died while rescue operations were on to save the others trapped at Sahasratal in Uttarakhand. The District Magistrate of Garhwal was monitoring the rescue operation.
However, later, the death toll rose to nine.
Meanwhile, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda left for Dehradun to monitor and coordinate the rescue operation.
In a statement released by his office, the minister said that a team of trekkers from Karnataka started their trek on Tuesday morning in the high altitude 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.
"Last night, we came to know that trekkers from Karnataka are in danger due to adverse weather conditions. 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 is being carried out," he 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.
Some trekkers have been rescued and were sent to a safe place in Dehradun.
"I spoke to one of the trekkers and gathered accurate information about the current situation there. The work to rescue the rest is in progress and the Government of Karnataka has already started all its efforts to rescue the trekkers. I left for Dehradun on Wednesday afternoon to assist in this operation," he said.
"Unfortunately, there have also been reports of some trekkers dying, which we are trying to reconfirm with local authorities and private agencies. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has instructed us to make all efforts to retrieve the bodies of the deceased trekkers. We are in touch with the Uttarakhand government and are going to work in this regard," he added.
Later in the evening, a statement released by the Chief Minister's Office said that 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.
In this regard, the Chief Minister has spoken to the Revenue Minister as well as the rescued trekkers in Dehradun over phone.
"It is very painful to know that the death toll has risen to nine. I pray for the departed souls to rest in peace. 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 handover the bodies to the families," he was quoted as saying in the statement.
Speaking to the trekkers who were rescued and brought to a safe place, the Chief Minister assured that all efforts are being made at the level of the government to bring everyone safely.
"Those who have already been rescued through the rescue operation have been brought back to a safe area and some trekkers are yet to be rescued. Adverse weather is severely hampering rescue operations and our government is trying its best to bring everyone to safety," the Chief Minister added.
ಉತ್ತರಾಖಂಡದ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರತಾಳ್ ಗೆ ಚಾರಣಕ್ಕೆಂದು ತೆರಳಿ ಹವಾಮಾನ ವೈಪರೀತ್ಯದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಸಾವಿಗೀಡಾದವರ ಮೃತದೇಹಗಳನ್ನು ಆದಷ್ಟು ಶೀಘ್ರ ಕುಟುಂಬದವರಿಗೆ ತಲುಪಿಸಲಾಗುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ರಕ್ಷಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಚಾರಣಿಗರನ್ನು ಸುರಕ್ಷಿತವಾಗಿ ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕರೆತರಲಾಗುವುದು. ಇದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಸಮರೋಪಾದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಪ್ರವೃತ್ತವಾಗಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) June 5, 2024
ಮೃತರ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ… pic.twitter.com/J4uF8ff1bu
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
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.
