Aarti Hamal was reported missing on March 25. (File)
Aarti Hamal, the 36-year-old daughter of a mayor in Nepal, stepped out with her friends in Goa and left her phone in the meditation resort she was staying at. Unable to get in touch with her, her family filed a missing complaint with Goa police and immediately boarded a flight to Goa.
What followed was a two-day massive search operation, which ended when the police found Aarti at a hotel at Chopdem village in North Goa, around 20 km away from where she went missing on March 25.
The saga began when Aarti vanished without a trace from the Osho meditation center in Goa where she had been staying for months. Her sudden disappearance prompted alarm bells.
Her father Gopal Hamal, the mayor of Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city in Nepal, posted an appeal on X (formerly Twitter) urging everyone in Goa to contact him if they spot his daughter.
The family also filed a complaint with the police. Investigators pieced together the timeline, revealing that Aarti Hamal was last spotted in Siolim, North Goa, on March 25, appearing composed and in control.
"A massive search operation was launched across the state to trace her. Eyewitnesses claim she was in her senses when they last saw her" police said.
As hours turned into days, Goa police intensified their efforts and began checking every hotel in the Pernem and Mandrem area. Police also looked for her at another Osho centre located at Canacona.
"She has been frequently visiting Goa. She had left her phone back at the Osho centre, due to which she could not be traced with the help of technical surveillance," he said.
A breakthrough emerged on Wednesday when cops found Aarti Hamal in a hotel at Chopdem village.
"On Wednesday, Hamal was found in a hotel at Chopdem village along with two other women, who are her friends," he said.
The police are in the process of recording her statement, the official said, adding that her family members have arrived in the state.