(In pic from left to right: Nataraj, Arun, Pratap, Shankregowda)
BENGALUURU/CHAMOLI: A 44-year-old police inspector from Bengaluru city and his four friends who were on a pilgrimage to Badrinath died in a helicopter crash in Uttarakhand on an overcast Friday after the chopper lost contact within minutes after takeoff. “The helicopter (VT-HCX) departed from Badrinath for Sahastradhara (Dehradun) at 1.12pm. At 1.14pm, contact with the helicopter was lost near Joshimath and information regarding its disappearance was received from an Army post,” a source said. Arun Salunke, attached to the special inquiry squad with the Central Crime Branch and from Artal village in Athani taluk of Belagavi district, was in the news when he booked an IAS officer from Andhra Pradesh, Vikas Marmat, and his friends on alleged charges of misbehaving with and abusing cops on the intervening night of Oct 10 and Oct 11.
The helicopter lost contact in less than two minutes after taking off from Badrinath.
The District Emergency Operations Centre said the helicopter was spotted by the Army’s Signal Centre team in the Hathi Parvat area and “smoke was seen rising from the helicopter, and it was observed losing altitude rapidly”. The copter pilot was among the dead. The incident had taken place when a team led by Salunke entered a night club to inspect whether liquor was being served to underage revellers.