A UK-based Indian-origin couple with roots in West Bengal’s Kolkata have gone missing during a Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage through flood-hit Nepal, with the family holding on to a haunting last message from them.
Anal Kar is a chemical engineer, while his wife, Sanjukta Kar, is a teacher. They moved to the United Kingdom in 2001 and live there with their two children. The couple, fond of travelling with the Himalayas holding a special place for them, had undertaken another Himalayan trek a few months ago.
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Anal and Sanjukta reached Kathmandu on August 18 after meeting relatives in Kolkata. They were last traced to Timure near the Nepal-Tibet border, according to news agency PTI. The couple were travelling to Kailash Mansarovar when they went missing.
The family last heard from them on August 26. Sanjukta sent photographs from the trip to her father, Ranjit Dutta, over WhatsApp on the night of August 25. The couple were scheduled to leave around 6 am the following morning to complete immigration formalities at the Nepal-Tibet border.
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“My daughter had contacted me over WhatsApp on the night of August 25. They were scheduled to leave at around 6 am on August 26 for immigration formalities. Sanjukta had also sent several photographs from their trip,” Dutta was quoted as saying.
The final message
Ranjit Dutta said that Sanjukta sent her final message to a WhatsApp group of friends at around 8 am on August 26.
“She wrote that a landslide alert had been issued in the area and that they were trying to reach a safe location on foot as quickly as possible. After that, we have not been able to contact them in any way,” he said.
The family trying to trace the couple
The family contacted the travel agency handling the trip, but it could not provide any information about the couple’s location or condition.
Sanjukta’s aunt said the family approached the police the following day. A police team from Bhawani Bhavan subsequently visited their home and collected the necessary information.
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West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari also spoke to the family over the phone and enquired about the missing couple. The family hopes that Sanjukta and Anal will be found and brought home safely.
