Tragic end to techie’s trekking in Bengaluru

[1]

Nearly 40 hours after IT professional Satwik Shastri went missing at Bannerghatta National Park, search teams found his body at noon on Monday, lying near a watering hole in the Begihalli Beat area, his body bloodied and leg broken.

Elephant tracks in the immediate vicinity strongly suggest the 24 year old techie was trampled to death by a pachyderm. The victim may have bled to death from his wounds, police, who undertook a five hour manhunt on Monday together with villagers, said.

The discovery of footwear that placed his companions at the scene, had the police query why his friends continued to insist Shastri had gone missing soon after he had gone to take a leak. Both have stuck to their story.

A police officer said: “The discovery of footwear indicates the three friends were together when the elephant charged. It’s possible Satwik was walking ahead and a cow elephant charged him. If it was a tusker there would have been puncture marks on the body. There were none. The spot from where Satwik went missing is a good 1.5 km away from where his body was finally found.”

The officer said they believed “the trio walked into the forest through Kasavanakunte as they were seen by villagers, and when the elephant attacked, both Ashish and Anupam may have run back to the village and called the police.”

The background

On Saturday, Satwik Shastri, 24, employed as a Senior Business Analyst at Mu Sigma in Whitefield, walked into the Bannerghatta forests with two friends Anupam Manur and Ashish San.

Shastri’s friends told police he went missing after he went to attend nature’s call. His body was found a kilometre from the main road, where he and his two friends had parked their two-wheelers.

The Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) officials have booked a case of trespassing against Ashish and Anupam. They face a maximum sentence of 12 months.

Search should have continued through Saturday night: Mother

The family of Satwik Shastri that was hoping he was safe after he went missing, were shattered beyond words after the police traced Satwik's body deep in the Bannerghatta forest. Satwik was killed in an elephant attack after venturing into the reserve forest.

Satwik's father, Dinesh Shastri, said, “Our worst fear was that Satwik was injured and lying unconscious somewhere, and that was the reason the police found it difficult to trace him. However, on Monday afternoon, when the police traced his body, it was a hard blow for us. We will never be able to come to terms with it.”

He said it is very upsetting that “out of fear both Anupam and Ashish (the two friends who accompanied Satwik) did not tell the police that they were chased by elephants. If they had informed immediately, things could have been different. Informing the police after everything happened is of no use, we lost our boy.”

“My nephew had dreams of pursuing his MS in the US. He had just returned from a two-month project in the US. Anupam was his trek partner. This is the first time he has ventured into the Bannerghatta forest.,” said Satwik's paternal aunt, Veena from Mysore.

Ms Veena is furious with the inadequate security arrangements in the forest. “If security had been in place, Satwik would not have been allowed into the reserved forest. Unless there are signboards it's difficult for anybody to know that they are entering a restricted zone,” she said.

She also felt that had the concerned officials reacted quickly and used a helicopter in the search, Satwik's life may have been saved. Satwik's mother Usha Shastri, a scientist at ISRO, said she had requested that the search continue through the night but instead it was called off. The family feels that had there been no delay and had he police begun search operations on Saturday night, when he was reported missing, Satwik could have been saved.

“If the police had begun combing operations in full swing on Saturday night, immediately after they were informed, there was a probability of Satwik surviving. The police said that they got to know about the incident around 10 pm on Saturday. They only searched in the vicinity close to the village till midnight and then continued the combing operation on next morning. Even on Sunday, there was hardly any manpower and they called off the search operation by 6 pm saying that there was danger” said Anupa N. Rao, Satwik's aunt.

Satwik Shashtri will be creamed on Tuesday. After receiving his body at Anekal Government Hospital, the family shifted it to a cold storage room in St John's Hospital.

Fun trip ends in jumbo disaster

Investigations into the death of Satwik Shastri have indicated that the three friends had come prepared for a day-long trip in and around Bannerghatta. The trio visited the Bannerghatta Zoo and took a safari ride before heading to Shivanahalli main road from where they decided to enter the forest.

The friends sat on the Mutturayana Bande drinking and eating food which they had picked up from a dhaba near Bannerghatta circle. The police said that the friends consumed alcohol till evening and did not venture inside the forest at 3 pm as claimed by Shastri’s friends.

“The label of an alcohol brand was found on footwear left behind by Anupam, near the location where Shastri’s body was discovered. During the post-mortem a pack of condoms was found with Satwik. The last call from his mobile was to a friend at 5.27 pm,” said an investigating officer.

The forest officials believe the three friends entered the forest to get a feel of the wilderness and were unaware about the heavy elephant movement.

“The Bannerghatta forest has more than 100 resident elephants in 200 plus sq km area and Anekal division, where the incident happened, has the highest density of wild elephants. Moreover, the elephants here behave aggressively since the conflict levels between them and humans are higher. Unlike Nagarhole and other forests, the elephant movement in and around Bannerghatta is restricted due to urbanisation and change in land use pattern,” said a forest official.

The forest officials will now erect a cautionary signboard near the hillock from where Satwik and his friends entered the forest.

“It was not a trekking expedition. We organise trekking in the National Park and the trekkers are accompanied by a guard with a gun. This is nothing but illegal entry into the forest. Since the road leads to the village, there is traffic movement and people drive from Bengaluru and venture inside the forest. We are erecting a board noting the restrictions about entering the National Park," said a forest official.

No Compensation for Satwik

The Forest Department has said that there will not be any cash compensation for Satwik Shastri who died in an elephant attack. When a person is killed outside the forest by a wild animal, up to Rs 5 lakh compensation is given to the victim's family.

“In this case the victim was inside the forest without informing the concerned authority. Hence this case will be treated as trespassing into the National Park. We will submit the report to the government," said an official from BNP.

When elephants get angry

* In January 2012 IBM staffer Jamboor Surappa Ramesh was killed after an angry elephant charged him at Mantapa village near Bannerghatta.

* In 2008 Dr Vishwanath, a veterinarian at Bannerghatta Zoo, was killed by a wild elephant.

* In 2006 a resident of Gottigere was killed when he moved too close to a herd.