Gwalior: How did Lt Col Pradeep Kumar Nigam of the Mahar Regiment – a highly decorated infantry regiment of the Indian Army – reach Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh from the Mahar Regiment Centre at Sagar in Madhya Pradesh?
Lalitpur is 110 km from Sagar. The police ‘rescued’ the Lt Col from a hotel in Lalitpur on Thursday. The police only said that he is safe and unarmed. The reason behind his travelling that distance without informing anyone continues to remain a mystery at a time when the country’s armed forces are on a state of alert, following Operation Sindoor.
According to officials, Lt Col Nigam, a stickler for discipline, left his official quarter at the Regiment Centre for a morning walk on Monday. When he didn’t return, the campus and surrounding areas were searched. When they failed to trace the officer, the military police registered a complaint with the Cantonment police station.
Lokesh Sinha, additional superintendent of police, Sagar, said: “Ever since the missing complaint was filed, our teams have been engaged in tracing him. Teams were involved in collecting technical evidence and we were working on physical evidence as well. As a result of which, we found his location near Lalitpur, a city in Uttar Pradesh, and a team was sent there and he was rescued.”
Sinha highlighted that the army officer was a ‘bit tense’ and that led him to reach Lalitpur. He is completely healthy and fine, the ASP said.
“The officer is completely fine and there is no sign of any unpleasant incident with him. He was a bit tense due to which he reached there. He was recovered from a hotel and he was alone there. Currently, the formalities of handing him over to his family are being done,” Sinha said.
The ASP said that Lt Col Nigam was in a normal state when he was rescued. This can mean that the police found no evidence of anybody forcing the Army officer to travel to Lalitpur.
“We are asking him about the journey. We hope to to know the reason behind his strange behaviour soon,” the police officer said.
