World · South & Central Asia · 6 hrs ago
Karnataka police inspector and four friends die in Uttarakhand helicopter crash
Karnataka police inspector Arun Salunke and four friends from Bengaluru died when their helicopter crashed near Joshimath in Uttarakhand on Friday.
The group was returning from a Char Dham pilgrimage, a journey to Hindu holy sites in the region.
Salunke, 44, was an inspector with the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch and had joined the Karnataka police in 2007.
He was the second officer from Karnataka to die in an accident outside the state in two months; his batchmate Ravi K.B. died in a bus crash in Madhya Pradesh on August 28.
The two men were close friends, and Salunke had publicly mourned Ravi after his death.
Salunke is survived by his wife and two children, while the other passengers also leave grieving families and friends.
Karnataka police inspector Arun Salunke was among five Bengaluru friends killed when a helicopter crashed near Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Friday.
The group had been on a Char Dham pilgrimage and was returning from Badrinath.
Salunke was an inspector with the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch and belonged to the 2007 police batch.
The four other passengers were identified as H.S. Nataraj, Prathap Ningraju, Sudheer K. and Shankar Gowda.
Salunke had travelled to Uttarakhand with friends the previous week, according to The Hindu.
- Who
- Arun Salunke, a Karnataka police inspector, and four friends from Bengaluru.
- What
- They died when their helicopter crashed near Jyotirmath.
- When
- Friday, October 30, 2026.
- Where
- Near Jyotirmath (Joshimath), in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.
- Why
- They were returning from a Char Dham pilgrimage. The cause of the crash is not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Salunke posted a message mourning the death of his friend and fellow 2007-batch officer Ravi K.B.
The five friends set out on their Char Dham pilgrimage.
Nataraj called his childhood friend from inside the helicopter and said they were waiting for the weather to clear.
The helicopter crashed near Jyotirmath as the group was returning from Badrinath.
- Victims
- Five Bengaluru passengers died
- Salunke’s role
- Inspector, Bengaluru Central Crime Branch
- Police batch
- 2007
- Crash location
- Near Jyotirmath, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand
- Pilgrimage
- Char Dham route; returning from Badrinath
3 sources
What people are saying
He told me that he was sitting inside the helicopter and waiting for the weather to clear.
We were all waiting for them to come back, but instead received the tragic news
We have lost two of them, and for many of us, it is a personal loss
Arun Salunke was a very good person. He was friendly with everyone in the apartment.