Former RSS chief KS Sudarshan traced after missing for 5 hrs

The 81-year-old Sudarshan, who is believed to be suffering from dementia, had lost his way and was found taking rest under a tree after being exhausted on the road leading to Lalith Mahal helipad, RSS and police sources said.

Earlier, the complaint by his brother Ramesh, with whom he was staying for the past three days, created a scare, with police and RSS volunteers launching a vigorous search for him.

The RSS had also, in a statement earlier, stated that Mr. Sudarshan was missing, saying he went for a walk and did not return.

Mr. Sudarashan had left for the morning walk alone at 5.20 a.m.

Acting on the complaint, the police had formed 20 teams to trace Mr. Sudarshan. RSS Swayamsevaks had also joined in the vigorous search operations.

Mr. Sudarshan hails from Kuppalli village of K.R. Pete taluk of Mandya District in Karnataka. He served as RSS Pracharak for six decades. He became RSS Sarasanghachalak in 2000 and held the post till 2009.

After retiring from the post of RSS chief, Mr. Sudarshan had been living in Bhopal

Earlier Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Uma Shanker Gupta had spoken to the Karnataka DGP on efforts to trace the former RSS chief.

Mr. Gupta said in Bhopal that two guards from Madhya Pradesh, who normally accompany him, were not with Mr. Sudarashan at the time he went missing.

He said the guards were in the local Sangh office when reports came in that Mr. Sudharshan has gone missing.

Earlier:

Former RSS chief KS Sudarshan goes missing

Mysore, August 3: Former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief KS Sudarshan has gone missing in Mysore. Sudarshan had gone for a morning walk at 5 am on Friday morning and has not yet returned.

The 81-year-old Sudarshan was staying at his brother's place in Nazarabad, Mysore. His brother has filed a complaint with the Mysore Police. Police have launched a hunt for him.

Sudarshan was the Sarsanghachalak of the RSS between 2000 and 2009.

He was nine when he first attended an RSS shakha. He was appointed as a pracharak in 1954. Only full-time members of RSS can become pracharaks. His first posting as a pracharak was in Raigarh district. In 1964 he was made the prant pracharak of Madhya Bharat at a fairly young age. This appointment perhaps was the first hint of the bigger things to come.

In 1969 he was appointed convener of the All-India Organisations' Heads. This was followed by a stint in the North-East (1977) and he took over as the chief of the Boudhik Cell (the RSS think-tank) two years later. Since 1990, Sudarshan has been a joint general secretary of the organisation.

He has the rare distinction of having held both posts of sharirik (physical exercises) and baudhik (intellectual) pramukh (chief) on different occasions.

Sudarshan speaks over 6 languages. Besides his native Sanketi, he is fluent in Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, English, Chhatisgarhi and some languages spoken in the North-East and Bengal.