Rahul's close aide found injured in UP

LUCKNOW: Youth Congress activist Nishant Patel, an aide of Rahul Gandhi, was on Tuesday found injured, a day after he went missing under mysterious circumstances from a hotel in the adjoining Hardoi district.

The 35-year-old Patel, son of senior Congress leader and former Gujarat minister Hasmukh Patel, has been hospitalised after he was found near the Buddheshwar crossing in the state capital.

"Nishant Patel, an activist of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi youth team who had been made party's Lok Sabha returning officer to conduct organisational polls in Mishrikh constituency, has been found in an injured condition near Budheshwar crossing in Talkatora police station area," senior Congress leader and spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.

"We are rushing to meet him and find out the details of what had happened to him", Singh said.

Police said that Nishant was staying at room number 104 of Utsav hotel in Hardoi since July 2 and was last seen on Monday morning and could not be traced since then.

"Both his mobiles and other belongings are present in the hotel room," they said.

Four members of the hotel staff, including the manager, were being quizzed by police.

Sources said Patel appeared to be in daze and had injuries on his abdomen and arms.

"Patel has suffered injuries, including in the head, and has been taken to the trauma centre," Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.

Patel was traced when he stopped a car and requested one Ram Prakash Gupta for his mobile to ring his colleague in Harodi to tell him about his whereabouts.

"Gupta who heard the conversation and recognised him. He informed the police who shifted him to the hospital," Singh said.

According to sources, Patel had been in depression for sometime and had told his colleagues about it a couple of days ago.