Background
Pawan Kumar Garg, who served as the nursing superintendent for the Orthopaedics Department at King George's Medical University, disappeared on the night of 27 September after leaving his residence in Keshav Nagar, Madiaon, accompanied by a friend named Sachin.
Chronology of the disappearance
Police reports indicate that the pair set off in Garg’s own vehicle. A surveillance camera at the Itaunja toll plaza recorded the car passing through, though the driver’s face was not clearly visible. Officers matched the attire captured on the video with the clothing Garg was known to wear that evening, and a second passenger was clearly visible beside him.
After clearing the toll, the car reached the village of Ludhauli, where Garg and Sachin joined acquaintances at a community gathering. According to witnesses, a heated argument broke out, culminating in a violent assault that left both men seriously injured.
Following the incident, Garg’s mobile phone was found switched off. His relatives lodged a missing‑person complaint at the Madiaon police station on 29 September.
Police investigation
Investigators traced the vehicle’s route along the Lucknow‑Sitapur corridor. The abandoned car was later recovered near Chadhehra Bazaar on the Jairampur road, in the Kamalapur area of Sitapur, on Tuesday.
Interrogations of several suspects shed light on the Ludhauli gathering and the alleged attack. Authorities now believe that after the assault, Garg and Sachin were placed back into the vehicle and possibly driven toward the Sitapur‑Bahraich border.
Search operations
In response, police have launched an extensive search of the Ghaghra River, suspected to be the path taken by the perpetrators. Multiple police units, assisted by the fire department and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), are combing the riverbanks and adjacent terrain.
The probe remains active as officials work to reconstruct the exact sequence of events after the two men reached Ludhauli and to locate the missing nursing superintendent.
