Uttarakhand helicopter crash: Five Karnataka men, including Bengaluru CCB inspector, kille

Five men from Karnataka were among those killed when a helicopter crashed in Uttarakhand on Friday afternoon, among them Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) inspector Arun Salunke, 40. The pilot also died, according to the source report.

Salunke, a 2007-batch officer from Athani in Belagavi district, served in the CCB's special investigation wing. Earlier postings included the Indiranagar, Banaswadi and Nelamangala police stations. He lived in Ramamurthy Nagar with his wife and two children. Neighbours and colleagues described him as soft-spoken, humble and approachable. His landlord, Dasappa, who had known him for three years, called him "a very good human being" who got along with everyone.

The trip, it emerged, was a plan Salunke had put together himself a few weeks ago. He had first thought of visiting Badrinath with his family, but later chose to go with friends instead.

Those friends were largely from Huliyurdurga in Tumakuru district. H S Nataraj, 50, a poultry trader, and Shankar Gowda, 40, a Karnataka High Court lawyer based in Bengaluru, both died. Their bond with Salunke dates to 2022, when he was Amruthur circle inspector in Kunigal taluk. Nataraj leaves behind his wife and two sons; Shankar is survived by his wife and daughter.

Nataraj's childhood friend Nagesh, a businessman, recalled a call around 11 am, in which Nataraj said the group was inside the helicopter waiting for the weather to clear. According to Nagesh, the pilot, Himanshu Sabharwal, had told passengers that dense fog was limiting visibility and that they would need to wait. Nataraj also mentioned it was extremely cold. The cause of the crash has not been established in the source material.

The other victims were Prathap Gowda, a businessman and Congress worker from Bachihalli in Sakleshpura taluk, Hassan, who had lived in Bengaluru for years and reportedly recorded a selfie video with friends before takeoff, and Sudheer K, a Bengaluru lawyer. Prathap is survived by his wife and two sons.

For Karnataka, the loss cuts across professions and districts, touching law enforcement, the legal community, small-town trade and politics. As the Himalayan yatra season draws crowds and helicopter services, the account of a weather wait is a reminder of how finely tuned conditions in the mountains can be. Investigators will be expected to clarify what happened. Read the original report on Deccan Herald.

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