Bengaluru student traced via Aadhaar OTP after seven months missing

An 18-year-old student who went missing from Bengaluru in January has been located in Kanakapura taluk. The investigation, led by the CID following a Karnataka High Court order, achieved a breakthrough using Aadhaar-linked OTP verification.

The student had disappeared from Vidyaranyapura on January 31 after leaving home with a minor friend under the pretext of going to college. The two traveled to Male Mahadeshwara Hills before parting ways. Investigators were able to trace the girl after she used her Aadhaar details to register for a government welfare scheme, providing a mobile number linked to her husband.

Police located the girl in a village, where they discovered she was married and pregnant. She has since been produced before the High Court and returned to her parents. Authorities are continuing efforts to locate the minor friend who had been traveling with her.