Varanasi: Following almost 8 hours of combing operation in search of 10 Muslim pilgrims lost in Vijaygarh fort jungle under Rampur Barkoniya police station limits in Sonbhadra, the men in khaki rescued them late Monday night.Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma on Tuesday said police received alert at 8.20 pm on Monday that pilgrims from Varanasi and Mirzapur had gone to visit a ‘mazar’ (shrine) located on Vijaygarh fort premises, but lost their way while passing through the jungle route as they had entered from the rear gate of the fort.Acting promptly, police from Rampur Barkoniya police station and PRV 8507 team jointly launched a search operation. Since the caller’s mobile phone was switched off, police team conducted an intensive search in the dense jungle with torches, whistles and a loud hailer. After combing the forest for almost 8 hours, police team located all the 10 pilgrims, including Nehal Akhtar (39), Faiz (14), Mehkan Nisha (55), Rabia Begum (30), Rukhsar (7) of Adalhat in Mirzapur, Hanif (45), Shahid (15), Sameer (16), Sania (16) and Naseema Khatoon (35) of Varanasi.The SP appealed to visitors to always seek local guidance and not get separated from the group while visiting jungles or unfamiliar locations.
