Missing law student from Navi Mumbai found dead in Lonavala gorge

Pune (PTI): A 20-year-old female law student from Navi Mumbai, who went missing on January 30, was found dead in a 400-feet-deep gorge at Tiger Point in Lonavala, Pune Police said, adding that the body was traced using drone cameras.

Police are probing the suicide angle and said that domestic tension could be the reason behind Shreya Narendra Pati taking the extreme step.

Pati's body was pulled by a local trekking group - Shivdurg Mitra Trekkers- from the 400-foot-deep gorge on Sunday.

"The deceased girl was a student of BITs Law School in Kalyan. She had left her house in Navi Mumbai on January 30, saying she was going for trekking to the Duke's Nose in Lonavala, and would return by 5 pm.

"When her family started contacting her, her phone was out of coverage," said Dinesh Tayde, a senior police inspector, Lonavala rural police.

He added that around 7.30 pm, the girl's father received a call from a snack vendor near Tiger's point, who told him that he found a bag near his stall, in which he found the college ID card of Shreya.

"Her father enquired with her friends and got to know that no one had gone to Lonavala with her. As per the probe, the deceased reached Tiger's Point around 11 am on Friday. Later, she went to Duke's Nose. Around 1.30 pm, she returned to Tiger's Point in a rickshaw, where she allegedly committed suicide," said Tayde.

He added that no suicide note was found, but domestic tensions could be the reason behind her taking the extreme step.

"The body was traced using drone cameras," he added.