MBA student goes missing during trek, search enters sixth day; two friends taken into custody

DEHRADUN: A 24-year-old MBA student has been missing for six days after going on a trekking trip in Uttarakhand. The missing woman, Babita Pandey, is a native of Nainital and disappeared while trekking to Dayara Bugyal in Uttarkashi. Search operations are continuing with the help of the Indian Army, state disaster response teams, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Meanwhile, police have taken into custody two friends who were trekking with Babita and are questioning them. The two men have been identified as Harmanpal Singh from Udham Singh Nagar and Harmanpreet Singh from Shahjahanpur. The trio began their journey from Dehradun on May 25. They first visited tourist destinations including Harsil and Gangotri.

On May 28, they reached Raithal, where the last CCTV footage of Babita was recorded. From there, all three started trekking towards Dayara Bugyal. According to her friends, the group stayed overnight at the Goi Base Camp. They claimed that Babita went missing from the camp around midnight.

Despite extensive search operations involving dog squads and drones, authorities have not yet been able to locate her. Divers were also brought in to search a nearby lake, but no trace of the missing student has been found so far.