A week after a Chandigarh youth went missing on Shrikhand trek in Himachal, the authorities are clueless and rescue operation has been affected due to bad weather. After police search party could not find any clue about the youth, government helicopter was pressed in the operation, but due to bad weather it could not make any sorties to the area.
Abhishek Kharbanda, 22, of Chandigarh, has gone missing on the Shrikhand Mahadev trek on July 4. The youth was on his way back from 17,150 ft high Shrikhand Mahadev along with three friends — Virender Singh Rawat of Chandigarh, and Rahul Singh and Sachin Kumar of Solan.
As they were descending towards Bhim Dwar, a base camp for the pilgrims, Abhishek asked his friends to carry on while he will take rest and meet them at the camp. On reaching Bhim Dwar, his friends waited for Abhishek but when he failed to turn up, they informed the officers present.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Anni Baldev Thakur said the youth went missing on July 4. “The search operation is on,” he said. He further added that there is a proper check post, yet people manage to evade checking and embark on the yatra without proper registration.