Missing Youth Congress activist found in Lucknow

LUCKNOW - More than a day after he was reported missing from a hotel room in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi town, Youth Congress activist Nishant Patel was Tuesday found on the outskirts of Lucknow Tuesday, police said.

“Patel was found by a passer-by, Ram Prakash on the Mohaan Road, where he was walking in a dazed condition,” Lucknow Range Deputy Inspector General Rajiv Krishna told media persons.

“Patel waved out to Ram Prakash who was driving towards the Hardoi road. When Ram Prakash stopped, Nishant asked him for a lift up to Hardoi,” he said.

“However, finding him dazed, Ram Prakash made him sit down and offered to get him some water. Meanwhile, his (Patel’s) phone rang and no sooner than he disclosed his name, Ram Prakash promptly recognised him, as he had read about the missing Congressman in today’s newspapers.”

Ram Prakash instantly informed police, who took Patel to the Trauma Centre at the Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU).

Patel, stated to have been hand-picked by Rahul Gandhi as local returning officer for electing Youth Congress officer bearers, went missing Monday morning from Utsav Hotel in Hardoi where he had been staying for the past few days to conduct the local organisational election scheduled later this month.

“The hotel guard claims to have seen Patel boarding a cycle-rickshaw around 6 a.m,” Hardoi Superintendent of Police Gyan Singh told IANS.

“What was strange that both his mobile phone as well as his purse were found intact next to his bed,” Singh said.

Patel had returned to his room around 11 p.m. Sunday night and was talking to party men until about 2 a.m. after which he retired. “It was around 7.30 in the morning when local party workers knocked at his door to find him missing,” a Youth Congress leader said.

Youth Congress state returning officer Arvind Chaudhary said: “We are so relieved that Nishant is back. It is too early to say anything about how he reached Lucknow. Right now he needs proper care and once he is normal, we will know what happened to him and how did he disappear from Hardoi to find his way to Lucknow, almost 100 km away.”