KOCHI: An Army captain from Kerala, who went missing in Madhya Pradesh three days ago, was confirmed dead on Thursday. Captain Nirmal Sivarajan, 32, a native of Mamangalam in Kochi, who was undergoing a Chinese Course at Army Education Corps Centre at Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, was caught in a flash flood while travelling from Jabalpur to Pachmarhi hill station on August 15.
Nirmal had contacted his mother Subaida at 7.57 pm on Monday and informed that there were roadblocks on the way to Pachmarhi which was 85 km away. At 8.30 pm he had contacted his wife and informed that he was taking a detour as the road was blocked due to flashflood. As his phone got switched off and there was no information on Tuesday, his father P K Sivarajan contacted the army authorities, who launched a search in association with the police.
After an extensive search, the car was found in a river with its windshield broken on Thursday morning. The body of Nirmal was found one km away from the spot. As per information, his car had plunged into the swollen Bachwada river while negotiating a culvert at Makhan Nagar on the way to Pachmarhi.
According to Sivarajan, a retired KSEB officer, Nirmal had gone to Jabalpur on August 13 to visit his wife Gopichandra, who is a Lieutenant in the army. He was scheduled to rejoin duty at AEC Centre in Pachmarhi at 6 am on August 16. Nirmal married Gopichandra, an army officer and a native of Thiruvananthapuram, on December 13, 2021. The mortal remains of Nirmal will be brought to Perumoozhickal House, his residence at Mamangalam, at 2 pm on Friday. The funeral will be held at Pachalam public crematorium in the evening.