Mechanical engineer from IIT-Kanpur found begging on Gwalior streets

BHOPAL: A senior citizen who claimed to be an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur has been found begging on the streets of Madhya Pradesh.

The 90-year-old man, who is identified as Surendra Vashishth, was found on a roadside in Gwalior.

The elderly man was rescued by Ashram Swarg Sadan (ASS), the same outfit that rescued a former police officer who was found begging on the streets a couple of days back, according to a report in Times of India.

"We found him in a very pathetic condition near the bus stand. When we talked to him, he left us bemused talking in English. We brought him to our ashram and are trying to contact his relatives," the report quoted Vikash Goswani of ASS as saying.

According to Vikas, Surendra said he had completed his mechanical engineering from IIT-Kanpur in 1969 and LLM from Lucknow 1972. His father was a supplier in the JC mills that was closed in the 1990s.

Vikas further said that the former rescued cop Manish Mishra is recovering well and is in a better condition. Manish was once a sharpshooter in the state police.

His life took a drastic turn when he lost his mental balance and started living on the streets. Manish was rescued by his batch mates Ratnesh Singh Tomar and Vijay Singh Bhadoria who are now crime branch DSPs.

The two were returning home from duty on November 11 when they noticed a 'beggar' on a footpath. After talking to the man, DSP Ratnesh Singh Tomar gave him shoes and Vijay Bhadoria gave him a jacket. The two cops were about to leave the spot when the beggar called Bhadoria by his name.

Surprised, the cops halted at the spot and asked the man to identify himself. Both the police officers were shocked when the beggar introduced himself as Manish Mishra. The two men recognised Mishra instantly as their batch mate from the 1999 batch.

Manish Mishra was dismissed from service in 2006 after he remained absent from duty for two years without any intimation to his seniors.