{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Government Health Scheme OTP Helps CID Track Missing Bengaluru Student After Seven Months as Search Continues for Her Friend",
  "summary": "Bengaluru police and the CID located an 18-year-old missing student who spent seven months off-grid, utilizing a critical OTP linked to her Aadhaar-based health scheme application.",
  "content": "An unexpected digital breakthrough has helped police track down an 18-year-old college student from Bengaluru who had been missing for approximately seven months. Rather than relying on traditional methods like mobile phone locations or call detail records, investigators traced her through a one-time password (OTP) generated during a government welfare registration. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Karnataka successfully located the girl using this unique clue. However, the mystery remains only partially solved, as her minor friend, who had left home along with her on January 31, is still missing, prompting an intense search by the investigative agency.\n\nThe Disappearance from Vidyaranyapura on January 31\nThe case began in the Vidyaranyapura locality of Bengaluru. Tanishka, an 18-year-old student pursuing her second-year Pre-University Course (PUC), left her residence on the morning of January 31 accompanied by her minor friend. Both teenagers told their respective family members that they were heading to college as part of their daily routine. However, when neither of them returned home by evening, their families grew deeply concerned. After searching local areas and contacting acquaintances yielded no results, the parents approached the local police, and a missing persons case was officially registered at the Vidyaranyapura police station.\n\nDuring the initial stages of the inquiry, the police discovered that the girls had planned their departure with considerable deliberation. To prevent law enforcement from tracking them through standard digital footprints, they purposely left their mobile phones and ATM cards at home. They only carried their college backpacks and their Aadhaar cards. The complete lack of electronic communication devices and credit or debit cards created an immediate roadblock for the local police, making it impossible to pin down their geographic coordinates through tower location data.\n\nInitial Lead, Failed Searches, and High Court Intervention\nA few days after going missing, the girls made a brief phone call to some of their mutual friends. During this short conversation, they mentioned that they had reached the Male Mahadeshwara Hills, located in the Chamarajanagar district, and were safe. They assured their friends that they would get in touch again in about a week. However, no further calls were received, causing anxiety to mount for both the families and the police. In response, the Bengaluru police established a dedicated 10-member team to track the girls down.\n\nThis specialized police squad conducted extensive search operations across more than 100 locations spanning multiple districts and neighbouring areas. Despite these massive efforts, no concrete leads were found, and the trail went cold. Recognizing the lack of progress after several months, the distraught families filed a petition before the Karnataka High Court, seeking a more rigorous investigation to locate their daughters.\n\nCID Takes Charge and Uncovers a Suicide Pact\nIn April, the Karnataka High Court formally transferred the investigation of the missing girls to the CID. CID officers began reconstructing the timeline from the day the girls left Vidyaranyapura. By tracing their movements through transit points, the investigators discovered that the girls had traveled first to Mysuru, then to a local temple in Chamarajanagar, before finally making their way up to the Male Mahadeshwara Hills.\n\nA senior CID official revealed a distressing detail regarding their motivations. Both girls had traveled to the hills with the mutual intention of ending their lives due to immense academic and domestic pressure. However, while they were on the hills, they were spotted by two young men who intervened. These men managed to persuade the girls against taking such a drastic step. Following this encounter, the two girls parted ways, each choosing to go with one of the young men to start a new life.\n\nA New Household in Kanakapura and Avoiding Technical Surveillance\nTanishka went with one of the youths, whose family ultimately accepted their relationship. The couple subsequently married in a temple ceremony and began living together in a rural village situated within the Kanakapura taluk. Because Tanishka did not possess a mobile phone or a personal SIM card, she remained entirely invisible to the cyber-surveillance systems typically utilized by the police. For months, authorities had no indication of her location or her marital status.\n\nFinding someone without any active digital footprint is a major challenge for modern law enforcement. However, CID investigators focused on the fact that Tanishka had taken her physical Aadhaar card with her. They began monitoring government databases where Aadhaar verification might be required. Their patience paid off when they discovered that Tanishka had recently applied for a government-sponsored health scheme in the Kanakapura region, using her Aadhaar card as proof of identity.\n\nThe Health Scheme Registration and the Decisive OTP Clue\nSince Tanishka did not have a personal mobile phone, she entered her husband’s phone number into the application form for the health scheme. During the registration process, the government system sent an OTP to this mobile number to verify the submission. CID officers tracking the Aadhaar database quickly identified this transaction and flagged the mobile number. By geolocating the husband's phone, the CID team traced him to the village in Kanakapura and ultimately located Tanishka. After seven months of searching, she was safely recovered by the agency.\n\nCourt Presentation, Pregnancy, and Deep-Seated Academic Stress\nFollowing her recovery, the CID presented Tanishka before the Karnataka High Court. In accordance with the court's directives, she was subsequently reunited with her parents. During her questioning and counseling sessions with the CID, Tanishka revealed that she is currently pregnant. She also detailed the circumstances that drove her to flee her home in January.\n\nTanishka explained that she had been under severe academic pressure, frequently facing reprimands from her parents for not performing well in her studies. She also expressed a deep-seated feeling of being neglected within her household, believing that her parents favored her elder sister over her. This sense of isolation drove her to plan her escape with her friend.\n\nWhile Tanishka has been found, the search for her minor friend remains a critical priority for the CID. Like Tanishka, the minor girl had also shared feelings of domestic neglect with her friends before leaving. Police investigations revealed that her family had experienced ongoing tension regarding the desire for a male child, which had added to her emotional distress. The CID is continuing its efforts to locate her and ensure her safe return.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThis case highlights how modern administrative databases like Aadhaar can act as safety nets, while also shedding light on the critical role of parental support in youth mental health.\n\n• Across India: Government databases and Aadhaar integrations are increasingly being used by law enforcement to track missing persons. This means that even if a missing individual stays completely off grid without a phone, official registrations can eventually help trace them.\n• For Parents Nationwide: The incident emphasizes the severe consequences of academic pressure and perceived favoritism within households. Parents must recognize these warning signs and foster open communication to prevent children from taking extreme steps.\n• In Bengaluru: Local police and CID have intensified coordination on missing youth cases, particularly those involving minors. Citizens can expect quicker escalation to specialized agencies when initial local police searches fail.\n• For Welfare Applicants: Citizens must ensure that contact numbers linked to official document registrations are active and correct. These details are vital not just for benefits but also for legal verifications.\n\nWhy this happened\nThe disappearance and subsequent recovery of the student were driven by a combination of academic stress and a unique digital footprint left during a welfare application.\n\n• Academic and Family Stress: Tanishka felt neglected at home due to constant scolding over her poor academic performance. She also believed her parents favored her elder sister, which prompted her to plan an escape with her friend.\n• The Suicide Attempt Intervention: Both girls originally went to Male Mahadeshwara Hills with the intention of ending their lives. However, two young men intervened, stopped them, and the girls subsequently decided to live with them.\n• The Aadhaar and OTP Breakthrough: Tanishka's lack of a personal phone kept her hidden from cyber-cell tracking. However, her registration for a government health scheme using her Aadhaar card and husband's mobile number generated an OTP that allowed the CID to pinpoint their location.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. How did the CID manage to trace the missing student after seven months?\nThe CID traced her after she used her Aadhaar card to apply for a government health scheme, using her husband's phone number where an OTP was received.\n\n2. Why did Tanishka leave her home in Bengaluru?\nShe left home due to academic pressure, parental scolding over studies, and a feeling of being neglected compared to her elder sister.\n\n3. What did the girls plan to do after leaving their homes?\nAccording to the CID, the girls had traveled to Male Mahadeshwara Hills with the intention of ending their lives, but were stopped by two young men.\n\n4. Where is the minor friend who went missing with Tanishka?\nThe minor friend is still missing, and the CID is actively continuing search operations to locate her.\n\n5. What did Tanishka do after being stopped from her suicide attempt?\nShe married the young man who helped her, and they began living together in a village in Kanakapura taluk.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/crime/bengaluru-ki-lapata-chhatra-ko-khojane-men-madadagara-bana-sarakari-yojana-ka-otipi-saheli-ki-talasha-men-juti-cid-31589",
  "category": "Crime",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-12",
  "tags": [
    "Bengaluru Police",
    "Missing Student",
    "CID Investigation",
    "OTP Clue",
    "Kanakapura",
    "Karnataka High Court"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}