A 27-year-old woman from Hyderabad, out on a solo trek to Prabalgad fort on the outskirts of the city, died apparently after she fell off a cliff, police said today.
Rachita Gupta, a housewife, set out from home on November 25 for the trek and last contacted her family on November 28.
However, there was no contact from Gupta since then, prompting her family to file a missing person complaint with the local police in Hyderabad.
According to police, she had informed the family about her location, which was also established by the mobile tower location, following which a joint team from Hyderabad and the local Panvel police station set out on a search.
"We took the help of a local hiking club NisargMitra, Panvel, and their help proved to be crucial in tracing her body after a 12-hour long operation yesterday," Vishwas Pandhare, DCP (Zone II) of Navi Mumbai, told PTI.
Prabalgad is located between Matheran and Panvel, at an elevation of 2300 feet in the Western Ghats.
Expert mountaineers from the club found her body stuck amid karvi bushes at the bottom of the main cliff of Prabalgad fort last afternoon, and it was brought down.
"We had formed seven teams and found the body after locating a shoe after six hours of search. It was a very difficult terrain to reach and we also found her belongings including a backpack containing valuables nearby," Vishwesh Mahajan of NisargMitra said.
He said help from the local villagers made it possible for them to locate the body and get it down safely.
According to police, Gupta had visited the fort on one occasion earlier.
Gupta's husband and a friend had already come to the base of the fort and all the legal formalities were completed.
A case of accidental death has been filed.
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