Bengaluru: An eight-month search for two college students who went missing from Vidyaranyapura has ended after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) traced both women and took them into custody.
Missing students finally traced by CID
The students, first PU student Tejaswini and second PU student Tanishka, had gone missing on January 31 after telling their families they were going to college.
A missing persons case was registered at Vidyaranyapura police station. Despite an initial search by local police, no significant leads emerged. Tanishka’s family later approached the High Court, following which the investigation was transferred to the CID.
Trail led from hill shrine to Kanakapura
The initial investigation found that the two students had travelled to Male Mahadeshwara Betta. While there, a woman reportedly clicked a selfie with them while they were playing with her child.
The students later came into contact with a young man from Kanakapura. According to the investigation, Tanishka allegedly told him that the two were sisters, had neither parents and were orphans, fearing pressure from her family.
Believing their account, the man reportedly took both women with him.
Aadhaar-linked SIM provides crucial breakthrough
The man later married Tanishka and kept Tejaswini at his home, introducing her as his sister.
The breakthrough came when Tanishka used her original Aadhaar card to purchase a new SIM card. CID officials had reportedly been monitoring the Aadhaar number, and the telecom service provider alerted investigators when it was used.
The CID then followed the Aadhaar details and network location, traced the place where the two women were staying and took them into custody.
Tanishka is currently pregnant. CID officials are scheduled to produce both women before the High Court.