Bodies of the two missing National Institute of Technology (NIT) students, were found near the Shikari Valley, Mandi on January 13. On Friday, the two 40 – member rescue teams, recovered the bodies from a snow-covered area, near the Shikari Devi temple, situated at a height of 10,900 ft.
The missing students were on a trek to Shikari Devi Temple
The two MBA Students – Akshay Kumar and Navneet Rana, from Sujanpur and Bilaspur respectively – went missing since January 6. Both casualties, left NIT Hirampur campus for trekking to Shikari Devi temple, situated at the hilltop of Jhanjheli. It is a unknown, whether the students were climbing to the temple or way back.
The identity card, found in Akshay’s bag helped to identify his body. However, the other body did not have any identity proof. Although, police suspect it to be Navneet’s body. Earlier reports claimed four students went missing, but police says they have received complaints about the two only.
The students hadn’t informed their parents about their trip. Students’ parents visited the NIT campus after multiple attempts of contacting their children and met Janjehli sub-divisional magistrate Ashwani Kumar, seeking help. Rescue team along with a chopper set out to search for the bodies, on Friday. The bodies of students will be in Mandi soon for autopsy after which their parents will receive them.
Extreme cold adds onto the risky trekking route to the Shikari temple
Himachal is under extreme cold weather condition and is having severe snowfall since last week. The temple area, itself is under 20-100 cm snow. Local authorities warn this place to be “risky” for trekking.
