India

Helicopter Crash Near Joshimath Claims Lives of Five Bengaluru Pilgrims

By Arun Dev, Coovercolly Indresh

A helicopter carrying five Bengaluru residents on a Char Dham pilgrimage crashed near Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday, killing all aboard. The victims were Arun Salunke, 44, a Bengaluru Police Central Crime Branch inspector; H S Nataraj, 51; Prathap Ningraju, 41; Sudheer K, 49; and Shankar Gowda, 39. All five were from Bengaluru. Salunke had previously posted a tribute on Instagram on August 28 for a colleague who had died. The group had departed for the pilgrimage three days earlier and was expected to return to Bengaluru that evening. Families and friends were awaiting their arrival when the crash was reported. Salunke, a 2007 batch Karnataka police officer from Aratal village in Athani taluk of Belagavi district, had studied at MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology before joining the police. He served at Halasuru police station and in the Criminal Investigation Department before becoming an inspector with the Bengaluru Police CCB. Residents of the apartment building where Salunke lived described him as friendly and well‑known. Nataraj, from Huliyurdurga in Tumakuru district, headed a Vidya Bharati educational institution. Shankar Gowda was an advocate. Prathap, from Bachanahalli in Hassan district, worked in civil contract work and had lived in Bengaluru for about 15 years with his wife and two sons. Nagesh, a businessman from Huliyurdurga and Nataraj’s childhood friend, recalled a call from Nataraj at about 11 am on Friday, when the pilot had told the group to wait for fog to clear. Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar expressed grief and said the state government was coordinating with Uttarakhand officials to bring the bodies back to Karnataka. Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge also offered condolences, noting the loss was especially painful for the police department. The pilot, from Delhi, also died in the crash.