Three men from Dharwad, who went missing in the dense woods during their visit to the little-known Vajra falls in Khanapur taluk on Sunday, were rescued by forest officials on Monday and later arrested by the police for entering the wild illegally.
Vishal Mirajkar, Arvind Rao and Mahesh were part of a seven-member group that ventured into the Nagargali forest on Sunday to visit the small Vajra falls. The waterfall is located in a remote place deep inside the forest and lacks proper connectivity. The Forest Department's permission and a local guide are required to access it, according to Deputy Conservator of Forests B V Patil.
The group reached the waterfall but lost its way during the return. Still, four members managed to come out of the forest but the trio remained stuck and had to spend the night in the forest. The matter was brought to the notice of forest officials and they launched a search on Monday. As many as 100 forest personnel accompanied by sniffer dogs started looking for them. The first contact was established by phone around 4.30 pm.
The men said they were safe but were clueless about their exact location in the forest which is spread over hundreds of hectares. Forest officials decided to trace the men based on their mobile phone location and asked them to share their Global Positioning System (GPS) details. The effort bore fruit. Later, the department filed a complaint against the men for trespassing into the forest and had them arrested.
Three men from Dharwad, who went missing in the dense woods during their visit to the little-known Vajra falls in Khanapur taluk on Sunday, were rescued by forest officials on Monday and later arrested by the police for entering the wild illegally.
Vishal Mirajkar, Arvind Rao and Mahesh were part of a seven-member group that ventured into the Nagargali forest on Sunday to visit the small Vajra falls. The waterfall is located in a remote place deep inside the forest and lacks proper connectivity. The Forest Department’s permission and a local guide are required to access it, according to Deputy Conservator of Forests B V Patil.
The group reached the waterfall but lost its way during the return. Still, four members managed to come out of the forest but the trio remained stuck and had to spend the night in the forest. The matter was brought to the notice of forest officials and they launched a search on Monday. As many as 100 forest personnel accompanied by sniffer dogs started looking for them. The first contact was established by phone around 4.30 pm.
The men said they were safe but were clueless about their exact location in the forest which is spread over hundreds of hectares. Forest officials decided to trace the men based on their mobile phone location and asked them to share their Global Positioning System (GPS) details. The effort bore fruit. Later, the department filed a complaint against the men for trespassing into the forest and had them arrested.