Missing Rahul Gandhi aide found injured in Uttar Pradesh

Rahul Gandhi’s close aide Nishant Patel, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Monday, was found with injury marks on his body on the outskirts of Lucknow on Tuesday. A doctor who attended to him said he also suffered a severe blow on the back of his head.

Youth Congress leader Patel is the son of former Gujarat minister Hasmukhbhai Patel. He was in Hardoi, about 100km from Lucknow, in connection with the ongoing Youth Congress elections. Patel is the returning officer for the Misrikh Lok Sabha constituency and has been handpicked by Gandhi for Mission 2012 (UP assembly polls).

Patel disappeared from Hotel Utsav on Monday morning. He was last seen by a hotel employee as he negotiated with a rickshaw puller, probably for a ride. A senior police officer told DNA it is evident that Patel did not plan to go out for long since he had left his two cellphones in the hotel room.

Sukhwant Singh Brar, a Youth Congress leader who stayed in the room adjacent to Patel’s, told the police that Gandhi’s close aide knew his way around Hardoi and that he had visited the place many times before. He also said Patel suffered from hypertension.

Brar thanked Zee News UP for providing information, which eventually led to Patel being traced.