5 Days On, No Trace Of Missing Techie Who Fell Into Ganga In Rishikesh; Search Continues

Last Updated:October 21, 2025, 16:24 IST

Hemant Soni, a techie from Madhya Pradesh, went missing after falling into the Ganga from Bajrang bridge in Rishikesh. Search operations continue.

Three separate teams have been formed at the police station level to search different parts of the river. (File)

Five days have passed since a 31-year-old techie from Madhya Pradesh went missing after falling into the Ganga in Rishikesh, and still, there is no sign of him.

The incident took place on Thursday, October 16, when the 31-year-old techie, identified as Hemant Soni, who hails from Madhya Pradesh and works in Delhi, and his two friends, Akshat Seth and Amit Soni, were at the Bajrang bridge, an under-construction structure running parallel to the Laxman Jhula in Rishikesh, news agency PTI reported.

Inspector-in-charge of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Kavindra Sajwan, said the accident occurred at 10:15 pm when Hemant accidentally fell into the river from the under-construction bridge.

His friends immediately informed police, following which a search operation was launched that very night. However, he said, Soni has not been located yet.

“He was standing atop a raised structure with glass shards and accidentally fell into the river. The friends informed us, and at 10.19 pm, we reached the spot. The operation is challenging as the temperature of water has been dipping," a police official said as quoted by Indian Express.

The police officer stated that for public safety, there was a proper system in place to block traffic at both ends of the bridge, but these three people crossed it and went onto the bridge.

He explained that work was underway to lay transparent glass plates on the bridge floor, and it is difficult to determine at night whether the plates are laid after the next step. Soni might have made this mistake at night, he said.

The Pauri police and SDRF continue to search for the person and an FIR has been registered based on a missing person complaint. Three separate teams have been formed at the police station level to search different parts of the river, and the operation is being carried out continuously.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav exhorted his Uttarakhand counterpart, Pushkar Singh Dhami, to expedite the search operation.

“Hemant Soni, a young engineer from Prithvipur in Niwari district, has been missing for the past few days after falling into the Ganga river from an under-construction bridge in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Taking note of the information shared by MLA from Prithvipur, Nitendra Singh Rathore, and the family members, I spoke today over the phone with the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, and personally requested him to intensify efforts to locate the young engineer Hemant," he said in a post on X.

The Bajrang Bridge is being built parallel to the ancient Lakshman Jhula in Rishikesh.

(With inputs from agencies)

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...

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News india 5 Days On, No Trace Of Missing Techie Who Fell Into Ganga In Rishikesh; Search Continues

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